Diet of dense foods is the trick

TRICKING ourselves into feeling full could be key to tackling rising rates of obesity, a conference will hear today.

The British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) said manipulating the energy density of the diet could help people to maintain a healthy body weight.

Energy density is calculated by dividing the number of calories in a food by its weight in grams. Those with a low number of calories per gram are the ones people should aim to eat more of.

But it is not just vegetables which have low energy density – eggs, baked beans and even spaghetti bolognese, if it is made with lean mince, vegetables and wholewheat spaghetti, also fall in this category.

Other tips include eating more foods with a high liquid content and eating more protein.

"Understanding how we can manipulate the energy density of the diet can help us maintain a healthy body weight," said Bridget Benelam, a nutrition scientist at the BNF.

"We can trick ourselves into feeling full. By changing the energy density of a meal we can achieve the same feeling of satisfaction, while eating less energy than we would usually."

The BNF's Feed Yourself Fuller chart is available at www.nutrition.org.uk/satiety