Research

Adherence

Consuming hard-textured foods significantly reduces daily energy intake and slows eating rate compared to soft-textured foods, regardless of industrial processing level.

To reduce calorie intake without counting calories, choose foods with a harder texture (e.g., whole vegetables, chewy meats, nuts) over soft, processed alternatives (e.g., purees, soft breads, smoothies). This forces slower eating and increases satiety signals, naturally leading to eating less, even if the food is processed.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
Daily energy intake and food intake were, respectively, 33% (571 ± 135 kcal) and 14% (247 ± 146 g) lower in the hard compared to the soft conditions (main texture p < 0.001). Eating rate (g/min) was on average 85% slower (P < 0.001) in the hard compared to the soft conditions.
Marlou Lasschuijt et al. · European Journal of Nutrition · 2023

Why this rating

Randomized crossover design is strong, but the small sample size (n=18) and early termination due to COVID-19 limit statistical power and generalizability.

Source

Speed limits: the effects of industrial food processing and food texture on daily energy intake and eating behaviour in healthy adults

Marlou Lasschuijt et al. · European Journal of Nutrition · 2023

DOI 10.1007/s00394-023-03202-z

crossover · n=18Cited 18×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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