10/08/2025
Same is true for dogs. Skip the kibble and feed real food!
Eat processed food? Losing weight is almost impossible — regardless of how many calories you have.
A UCL-led clinical trial has found that people eating minimally processed foods lost nearly twice as much weight as those on an ultra-processed diet, even when both diets were matched for calories and nutrients.
Over eight weeks, participants on the minimally processed plan—featuring meals like overnight oats and homemade spaghetti Bolognese—saw an average 2.06% weight reduction. On the other side? Weight reduction was just 1.05% for those eating nutritionally balanced but ultra-processed foods like ready-made lasagna and breakfast oat bars.
The minimally processed group also recorded a greater daily calorie deficit (290 kcal vs. 120 kcal) and improved body composition, losing fat while preserving muscle.
Beyond weight, the minimally processed diet produced significant improvements in food craving control, with participants reporting double the improvement overall and four times the improvement for savory cravings compared to the ultra-processed group.
While secondary health markers such as cholesterol and blood pressure showed no significant differences between diets during the short trial, researchers emphasize that over longer periods, the weight and fat loss advantages could translate into meaningful health benefits.
EThey argue that food processing itself—not just nutrients—plays a key role in weight management, and call for policies that make whole, minimally processed foods more accessible and appealing.
Source: Dicken, S. J., Jassil, F. C., Brown, A., Kalis, M., Stanley, C., Ranson, C., Ruwona, T., Qamar, S., Buck, C., Mallik, R., Hamid, N., Bird, J. M., Brown, A., Norton, B., Gandini Wheeler-Kingshott, C. A. M., Hamer, M., van Tulleken, C., Hall, K. D., Fisher, A., Makaronidis, J., & Batterham, R. L. (2025). Ultraprocessed or minimally processed diets following healthy dietary guidelines on weight and cardiometabolic health: a randomized, crossover trial. Nature Medicine, August 4, 2025.
