Is eating vegetables making you fat?

Common-sense advice for a healthier diet has long rested on the blanket statement that your diet should include several servings daily of fresh fruit and vegetables. But new research shows that people may be eating the wrong plant foods, and thus failing to lose unwanted pounds.

The study of almost 118,000 healthy Americans followed over 24 years was published this week in the journal PLoS Medicine, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times. The research shows that people eating mostly starchy vegetables like potatoes, corn and peas were more likely to gain weight, while those eating other fruit and vegetables were less likely to gain weight.

In even greater detail, those who increased their intake of blueberries, prunes, apples, pears, strawberries, grapes (or raisins) and grapefruit were least likely to gain weight.

The researchers found one exception to the finding that linked weight gain to starchy plants: those who ate more soybeans and tofu were highly protected from weight gain.

Fruits and vegetables may confer protection from weight gain due to the high polyphenol content in many plants. Polyphenols are phytochemicals that have been linked to important health benefits, in particular as anti-oxidants. The researchers also believe that increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables helps protect against weight loss by providing calories that might otherwise be satisfied with calorie-dense sweets or fatty foods.