Eating soup will help cut calories at meals

Eating low-calorie soup before a meal can help cut back on how much food and calories you eat at the meal, a new Penn State study shows. Results show that when participants in the study ate a first course of soup before a lunch entree, they reduced their total calorie intake at lunch (soup + entrée) by 20 percent, compared to when they did not eat soup.

"This study expands on previous studies about consuming lower-calorie soup as a way to reduce food intake," says co-author Dr. Barbara Rolls, who holds the Guthrie Chair of Nutrition at Penn State. "Earlier work suggests that chunky soup may be the most filling type of soup, so the purpose of this study was to determine whether different forms of soup might have different effects on food intake. "

The study tested whether the form of soup and the blending of its ingredients also affected food intake and satiety. All of the soups tested in the study were made from identical ingredients: chicken broth, broccoli, potato, cauliflower, carrots and butter. However, the methods used to blend the ingredients varied, so that the form of the soup changed. Soups tested included separate broth and vegetables, chunky vegetable soup, chunky-pureed vegetable soup, and pureed vegetable soup.

While researchers thought that increasing the thickness or the amount of chewing required may have made certain forms of soup more filling, results of the study show that low-calorie soup is filling regardless of its form.

Julie Flood, a doctoral student in nutritional sciences at Penn State, and Rolls presented their findings today (May 1, 2007) at the Experimental Biology Conference in Washington, D.C.

"Consuming a first-course of low-calorie soup, in a variety of forms, can help with managing weight, as is shown in this research and earlier studies. Using this strategy allows people to get an extra course at the meal, while eating fewer total calories," says Flood. "But make sure to choose wisely, by picking low-calorie, broth-based soups that are about 100 to 150 calories per serving. Be careful of higher-calorie, cream-based soups that could actually increase the total calories consumed."

Source: Penn State

Related stories:

Calorie density key to losing weight
Eating smart, not eating less, may be the key to losing weight. A year-long clinical trial by Penn State researchers shows that diets focusing on foods that are low in calorie density can promote healthy weight loss while helping people to control hunger.
Sensor detects bad milk, blood coagulation and road stress
Craig Grimes, a professor of Electrical Engineering at Penn State, has created a very practical gadget.
Scientists discover exotic quantum state of matter
A team of scientists from Princeton University has found that one of the most intriguing phenomena in condensed-matter physics -- known as the quantum Hall effect -- can occur in nature in a way that no one has ever before seen.
Microwave your foods safely
For many consumers, microwaving has become the primary method of heating food, providing convenience and time savings. But a food-safety expert in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences says recent outbreaks of foodborne illness have been associated with microwaved foods, and several factors may be responsible.
How to stay healthy this Christmas
At Christmas it can be hard to stay healthy. The average Christmas dinner contains over 1,400 calories, 70 per cent of the total calorie intake for an adult woman (2,000 calories a day) and over half the amount for an adult man (2,500 calories a day). But don’t worry - with a bit of thought and guidance from Bristol University experts, you can stay healthy and still have a good time.
Adult stem cells are touchy-feely, need environmental clues
A certain type of adult stem cell can turn into bone, muscle, neurons or other types of tissue depending on the "feel" of its physical environment, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania.
Probing Question: Can steroids enhance athletic performance?
On May 28, baseball's Barry Bonds launched his 715th home run a whopping 455 feet to pass Babe Ruth as the No. 2 home run slugger of all time. But allegations of steroid use have caused many fans to turn their backs on the prolific hitter's accomplishment. While we may never know whether Bonds used steroids, the controversy still invites the question, "Can steroids really enhance athletic performance?"
Methane-Belching Bugs Inspire a New Theory of the Origin of Life on Earth
Two laboratories at Penn State set out to show how an obscure undersea microbe metabolizes carbon monoxide into methane and vinegar. What they found was not merely a previously unknown biochemical process -- their discovery also became the inspiration for a fundamental new theory of the origin of life on Earth, reconciling a long-contentious pair of prevailing theories. This new, "thermodynamic" theory of evolution improves upon both previous theories by proposing a central role for energy conservation during early evolution, based on a simple three-step biochemical mechanism.

News discussion:

Medicine & Health news