Calorie Myth-Buster: Why 6 Servings of Grains a Day Won't Help Keep The Weight Away

Whenever the topic of nutrition and weight-loss arise in conversation (or in the media), it seems almost inevitable that some individual will attempt to demonstrate their indoctrination (*ahem*), excuse me … their intelligence, by bringing up the popular concept that a calorie is a calorie.

When that time arises, you may find yourself wanting to pull your hair out, bang your head against a wall or scream at the stupidity of their argument.

OR

You can remember four words which will see you in good stead in enlightening this well-meaning soul: Kekwick & Pawan, 1956. This is by far one of my favourite studies debunking the idea that weight-loss is a magical equation of creating some calorie deficit regardless of macro-nutrient composition.

The Study:

In their study, they compared 3 diets and their effects on weight-loss in obese participants. The one most relevant to us is ‘DIET No 2’. In this condition participants were fed isocaloric diets of 1,000 calories comprising of either 90% fat, protein or carbohydrates. What Kekwick and Pawan found was that weight was lost rapidly when 90% of the calories was given as fat or as protein, but that weight was maintained during the period of the study (21 days) when 90% of the calories was given as carbohydrates. IN FACT, participants actually GAINED weight when consuming a mere 1,000 calories from carbohydrates (see Figure below).

So the next time somebody tells you to eat more whole-grains, more fruit, and more carbs when you’re trying to lose weight (after all you ‘need carbs for energy’ *rolls eyes*), you can point them to this study and query why they’re trying to sabotage your progress.

Clearly if a calorie was a calorie, people would be losing weight on diets consisting of snickers bars and apple juice. But since this isn’t happening, we need to stop subscribing to the belief that weight-loss involves 6 servings of cereal & grains daily, topped with frequent snack of fruit and start using our critical thinking to find what actually works IN our favour not AGAINST it.

Reference:

Kekwick, A., & Pawan, G. L. S. (1956). Calorie intake in relation to body-weight changes in the obese. The Lancet, 155-161