Research

Energy balance

Diet order effects on energy balance and body composition are not observed when comparing Ultra-Processed Foods (UPF) to Minimally Processed Foods (MPF) if the diets are matched for macronutrients, energy density, and fiber.

When comparing ultra-processed foods to minimally processed foods, the physical properties of the food (energy density, fiber, volume) matter more than the processing status itself for determining intake. In this study, when UPF and MPF were matched for these properties, there was no difference in weight loss or energy intake based on which diet was eaten first. This suggests that formulating UPF to match the fiber and density of whole foods may mitigate overeating behaviors.

GoodRefutesHIGH confidence
There were no diet order effects on ad libitum energy intake, body weight, or body composition change between UPFMPF versus MPFUPF groups.
Christina M. Sciarrillo et al. · medRxiv · 2023

Why this rating

Same high-quality study design as N1, secondary analysis.

Source

Diet order affects energy balance in randomized crossover feeding studies that vary in macronutrients but not ultra-processing

Christina M. Sciarrillo et al. · medRxiv · 2023

DOI 10.1101/2023.10.03.23296501

preprint · n=40Cited 6×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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