Research

Energy balance

Reducing dietary energy density (consuming larger portions of lower-calorie foods) improves satiety and aids weight loss maintenance, regardless of total caloric intake in the short term.

To make your diet easier to stick to, choose foods that are less energy-dense. This means eating more vegetables, fruits, and lean proteins relative to fats and sugars. You can eat larger portions of these foods, which helps you feel fuller for longer, making it easier to maintain a calorie deficit without feeling deprived.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
The flexibility of energy density gives patients options to tailor and personalize their dietary patterns to reduce energy intake for sustainable weight loss... reducing energy density is effective for weight loss and weight loss maintenance.
Oluwakemi Lois Adeola et al. · Cureus · 2023

Why this rating

Supported by multiple RCTs and systematic reviews cited in the paper (e.g., Hannon et al., Champagne et al.).

Source

The Effectiveness of Nutritional Strategies in the Treatment and Management of Obesity: A Systematic Review

Oluwakemi Lois Adeola et al. · Cureus · 2023

DOI 10.7759/cureus.45518

systematic_reviewCited 22×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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