Eating A Serving of Chickpeas a Day Could Benefit Weight Loss

Consuming 130 g of pulses—dried beans, dried peas, chickpeas, and lentils—each day can benefit weight loss efforts, even in individuals who are not restricting caloric intake, according to results of a new study.

In order to better understand the effects of pulse consumption on weight loss efforts, researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 21 randomized, controlled trials including 940 participants. All trials were of 3 or more weeks’ duration and compared the effects of diets containing pulses with those that did not include pulses.
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Overall, researchers observed a significant weight reduction of 0.34 kg in diets that included pulses compared with diets not including pulses over a median duration of 6 weeks. Weight loss was observed both in diets designed to encourage weight loss and in those designed to maintain current weight.

“The inclusion of dietary pulses in a diet may be a beneficial weight-loss strategy because it leads to a modest weight-loss effect even when diets are not intended to be calorically restricted,” the authors wrote. “Future studies are needed to determine the effects of dietary pulses on long-term weight-loss sustainability.”

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Kim Sj, de Souza RJ, Choo VL et al. Effects of dietary pulse consumption on body weight: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials [published online March 30, 2016]. Am J Clin Nutr. doi:10.3945/​ajcn.115.124677.