A new study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition finds that reducing the ‘energy density’ of your diet will help with weight loss. Energy density refers to the caloric content of foods. Items that contain a lot of bulk but relatively fewer calories per serving are foods considered to have a low energy density.

Barbara Rolls, a professor of nutritional science at Pennsylvania State University, said the take home message of the study is “Increase the water content of the foods you eat and decrease the fat content”. The study participants who ate the diet lowest in energy density lost the most weight and also got to eat 300 grams (10.5 ounces) more of food per day. Additionally, the nutritional value of the lower energy density diet was higher.

Excuse me, but do we really need a study to prove this? It is common sense (and should be common knowledge) that stuffing yourself with broccoli and celery would result in a lower calorie intake than a big meal of steak and potatoes. Of course, a broccoli and celery diet wouldn’t last long for most people, but it’s not about diets. It’s about a healthy lifestyle which will enable the attainment of a healthy weight. Lose the potatoes and have the steak and the broccoli. Make the steak organic or grass-fed beef and a reasonable serving size (not one of the humungous things you get in some restaurants), and you’ve got a healthy meal. Seems like we shouldn’t need a professor, or a study, to tell us that.

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