Vegan diet cuts 357 calories/day without eating less — SkimNews
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- Hana Kahleova, MD, PhD and colleagues at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine reported that adults with overweight on a low-fat vegan diet consumed about 357 fewer calories per day over a 16-week randomized trial, despite no instructions to restrict calories or portions.
- The vegan diet reduced dietary energy density by roughly 30%, while the control group's energy density remained essentially unchanged, according to the study published in JAMA Network Open.
- Participants ate about the same total weight of food throughout the trial; the calorie reduction came from replacing calorie-dense animal foods with vegetables, legumes, grains, and fruits that deliver more volume per calorie.
- Researchers found that greater reductions in energy density correlated with greater weight loss, and the relationship held even after statistically accounting for changes in calorie intake.
- Kahleova, director of clinical research at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, framed the finding as a sustainable alternative to portion control: 'You don't have to eat less. You can eat more food, feel full, and still lose weight.'
Why it matters: The trial challenges the standard clinical advice that weight loss requires deliberate calorie restriction, suggesting that swapping food composition — not shrinking plates — drove a 357-kcal/day deficit in 16 weeks. For the roughly two-thirds of U.S. adults with overweight, that reframing could lower the psychological barrier of dieting, though the study was small and short-term and did not test whether the approach matches medication or structured restriction over longer horizons.
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