Research
Energy balance
Increasing vegetable and fruit consumption contributes to weight stability and may prevent body weight gain, but does not directly cause significant weight loss unless it replaces high-fat or high-energy foods.
To manage your weight, increase your vegetable and fruit intake to help you feel full with fewer calories. However, do not expect to lose weight just by adding them; you must also reduce high-fat or high-energy foods in your diet.
ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
There is possible evidence that an increased consumption of vegetables and fruit may prevent body weight gain... There is probable evidence that an increase in vegetable and fruit consumption alone does not result in weight loss. There is probable evidence that an increase in the consumption of vegetables and fruit leads to weight reduction, if this replaces foods rich in fat or energy.
Why this rating
Rated 'possible' evidence for weight gain prevention and 'probable' for no direct weight loss without substitution.
Source
Critical review: vegetables and fruit in the prevention of chronic diseases
Heiner Boeing et al. · European Journal of Nutrition · 2012
DOI 10.1007/s00394-012-0380-y
narrative_reviewCited 1,759×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Increasing vegetable and fruit consumption reduces the risk of hypertension, coronary heart disease, and stroke, with evidence rated as convincing.Strong
- There is probable evidence that increasing vegetable and fruit consumption does not directly influence the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus, independent of body weight.Good
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