Nutrition for Weight Loss
Energy Densities of Food

What are energy dense foods? What can they do for me ?

Low energy dense foods are those foods that are often high in micronutrients, but low in calories, per gram of food. Prime examples of foods that have low energy densities are lettuce and watermelon. These foods are typically very high in water content and fiber and usually refer to fruits and vegetables(4), but could also include manufactured foods such as artificial sweeteners which contain less calories per gram than normal sugar(3).

It has been well publicised that eating low density fruit and vegetables may help you to lose weight, and it has implications for the way in which the weight loss industry deals with the problem of obesity. The theory behind eating low energy dense foods, assumes that you can eat a mound of lettuce and watermelon and still consume less calories than if you had consumed 1 cream biscuit. Eat more and consume less calories. Research also supports the idea that diets low in energy density and palatability (how it tastes) can be a significant determinant of how many calories you consume, irrespective of the fat content.(5) What this means is that all those low fat versions of food you buy in the supermarket, may be pretty useless unless they contain less actual energy or calories than their full fat equivalent. One study suggests that even if a meal is high in fat but composed of mostly vegetables, it can be relatively low in calories per gram of food eaten and therefore have a low energy density.(1)

There are differing views as to whether low energy dense foods promote feelings of fullness, and are as satisfying to eat as their high energy equivalents e.g. lettuce versus cream biscuit. McCrory et. al. (2000) identified as mentioned above in their review, that there is a relationship between how the food tastes, the energy density of the food and total energy intake. They cite that in numerous unpublished studies "pleasantness of taste is positively associated with the energy intake of single foods.", that is if it tastes good, more than likely, you'll end up eating more of it and therefore more calories. Of course, in reality, this may vary from individual to individual.

There are however, some studies that support the theory that low energy dense foods are satisfying. Eating foods such as salads, for example before or with a meal of any size have been shown to promote feelings of fullness and reduce the amount of food eaten overall (2). Of course, for those who eat cheese and salad dressings with their salads, the calories will obviously be increased.

Consuming foods with high energy density can result in consuming too many calories without even knowing it, and still be hungry for more food. These foods, typically, the french fries, are very high in energy, but obviously low in vitamins and minerals, may be satisfying at the time of eating, but perhaps a 1/2 an hour or an hour later, you may be hungry for more food. So while you've eaten a lot of calories with the french fries, and you're hungry again so quickly, the likelihood of weight gain is probable if food such as french fries are included in the diet regularly.

In short, low energy dense foods are those that contain high amounts of water, and can be consumed with a relatively small amount of calories. What this means is that you can incorporate more of these foods into a balanced diet to get a more food for your calorie budget.

What are foods that have relatively low energy densities ?

Below I've listed foods and the amount of calories they have in them per 100 grams of food (where possible), the calories may vary from brand to brand.

I have also listed foods from all food groups, not just fruit and vegetables.

This is not an extensive list, you can research more foods yourself, by going to NutritionData and individual varieties of foods may differ slightly, the below will give you a general idea. These figures have been sourced from The Australian Women's Weekly fat and kJ counter booklet. You can find similar booklets at your local newsagents or simply go to the site above.

You may also be able to guess which foods have low energy densities by how much water and fiber the food contains. If you know it to contain alot of water, then it is likely that it has a low energy density.

Food Item:	Calories per 100 g of food:	Food Item:	Calories per 100 g of food:
Fruit		Dairy
Raw unpeeled Apple	55 cal.	250 ml modified low fat milk	117 cal.
Banana	85.38 cal.	90 g reduced fat cheese	294 cal.
Raw peeled Orange	38 cal.	low fat fruit yogurt	49 cal.
Green Grapes	61 cal.	1 tblspn Low fat mayonnaise	32 cal.
Rockmelon	22 cal.	125 ml reduced fat canned cream	326 cal.
Raw watermelon	23 cal.
Cherries	54 cal.
Unpeeled raw nashi pear	46 cal.
Cherry Tomatoes	12 cal.
Fresh fruit salad	46 cal.

Food Item:	Calories per 100 g of food:	Food Item:	Calories per 100 g of food:
Vegetables		Grains/Cereal
Boiled potato	65 cal.	Unprocessed bran	155 cal.
Raw carrot	24 cal.	raw rolled oats	370 cal.
boiled pumpkin	46 cal.	Weeties 90 g	288 cal.
boiled peas	46 cal.	Corn flakes	383 cal.
canned beans	24 cal.	Nut mix	636 cal.
bean sprouts	20 cal.	Dried fruit	268 cal.
steamed broccoli	24 cal.	low fat meusli	330 cal.
corn on the cob	82 Cal.	2 slices white bread	140 cal.
lettuce	6 cal.	2 slices wholemeal bread	130 cal.
Frozen and boiled Mixed Vegetables	33 cal.	100 g turkish bread	244 cal.
		Wheat pasta	119 cal.
		wheat and gluten free pasta	368 cal.
		Brown boiled rice	151 cal.

Food Item:	Calories per 100 g of food:	Food Item:	Calories per 100 g of food:
Meat		Legumes
Lean grilled fillet of beef	196 cal.	Canned drained chickpeas	97 cal.
10% fat lean mince simmered	214 cal.	Canned drained lima beans	59 cal.
chicken breast grilled, no skin	185 cal.	Canned drained soy beans	92 cal.
Salmon grilled/baked	184 cal.	Canned drained lentils	51 cal.
Canned tuna in water	100 cal.
2 whole hard boiled eggs (100 grams)	150 cal.

Food Item:	Calories per 100 g of food:	Food Item:	Calories per 100 g of food:
Processed Snacks/Misc.		Fats
1 chewy apricot meusli bar	124 cal.	Avocado	210 cal.
1 rye crispbread	17 cal.	Polyunsaturaded, fat reduced margarine	355 cal.
chocolate energy food drink 1 tblspn	75 cal.	1 cup faxseed oil (NutritionData)	1927 cal.
1 tblspn seafood sauce	52 - 71 cal. (depending on the brand)	1 tblspn olive oil	161 cal.
150 ml white sweet wine	99 cal.	1 tblspn canola oil	177 cal.
125 ml alfredo pasta sauce	190 cal.

So as you can see if you ate 100 grams of watermelon, you'd be consuming 23 calories. If you ate 100 grams of raw unpeeled apple, you'd be consuming 55 calories (over double the calories). You can see the difference. You can engineer a weight loss strategy to consiously consume less calories while consuming the same amount of food that you'd normally take in.

Sample Meal Plans With Low Energy Densities and High Macro-nutrient intakes follows:

Breakfast

100 grams unprocessed bran low fat milk low fat desert yogurt

Total calories: 321 calories

Compare this with eating corn flakes, low fat milk and yogurt - 549 calories

Morning Tea

50 grams rockmelon 50 grams watermelon

Total calories: 22.5

Compare this with having a meusli bar - 124 calories.

Lunch

2 slices of wholemeal bread Avocado spread Canned tuna Lettuce

Unpeeled nashi pear

Total calories: 167 calories

Compare this with eating a chicken and lettuce white sandwich with margarine, you'd be consuming about 178.70 calories.

Afternoon Tea

2 raw carrots and 5 slices of fat reduced cheese

Total calories - estimate around 122 calories

Compare this with eating 1 meusli bar - 124 calories.

Dinner

Lettuce, cherry tomatoes and avocado

Grilled Salmon Mixed Vegetables Brown Rice Seafood Sauce

Water

Fruit salad

Total calories - about 494.20

Total calories for low energy density menu is 1,126.70 for the day.

Total calories for the alternative menu is 1,498.70 for the day, which makes a total calorie saving of 372 calories - eating the same amount of food, just watching the foods that have a higher amount of calories per gram of food.

So now you've got some idea of how to develop a low energy dense diet, don't go away and decide to eat only low energy dense foods ! Dietary energy density is only one factor that influence overeating and obesity. There are many other factors that influence a healthy diet. See the diagram here Nutrition.org The diagram illustrates that while energy density is important it is only one factor needed to be implemented to maintain a healthy diet and therefore a healthy, normal weight body.

The diagram emphasises that energy intake is influenced by the amount of processing the food has undergone, the glycemic index, energy density, palatability, portion sizes and variety within the food groups.

While its great to pay attention to the energy density, also look out for these other factors. One food group should never be neglected and eating a variety of foods is beneficial in weight loss.(5) I am not saying never eat foods that have higher amounts of calories again, you can often combine foods with low amounts of calories with other foods high in calories to give your body the nutrients it needs.

So eat a variety of foods, and work out which foods have less energy per gram of food and which ones are more energy dense. Eat foods with less energy density first, or eat them with foods that have higher amounts of calories.

References:

(1) La Fontaine HA, Crowe TC, Swinburn BA, Gibbons CJ. Two important exceptions to the relationship between energy density and fat content: foods with reduced fat claims and high fat vegetable-based dishes.

(2) Rolls BJ, Roe LS Meengs JS. Salad and satiety: energy density and portion size of a first course salad affect energy intake at lunch. (3) Drewnowski, A. Intense sweeteners and energy density of foods:implications for weight control. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1999 Oct;53(10):757-63.

(4) Rolls BJ, Ello-Martin JA, Tohill BC. What can intervention studies tell us about the relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and weight management ? Nutr Rev. 2004 Jan;62(1):1-17.

(5) McCrory MA, Fuss PJ, Saltzman E, Roberts SB. Dietary Determinants of Energy Intake and Weight Regulation in Healthy Adults J Nutr 2000;130;276S-279S.

Wishing you much health and wellness