Which is easy to get fat by eating rice or eating noodles? The researchers analyzed 100,000 Chinese

Recently, the research team of the School of Public Health of Xi'an Jiaotong University explored the link between "staple food preference" and "obesity risk" for the first time in a study published in the Swiss journal Nutrients.

Experts interviewed

Chinese registered dietitian Zhang Haiying

People who love rice have a low risk of gaining weight

In this study, the research team analyzed the data of more than 100,000 people in the northwest region of the mainland and divided the study subjects into rice lovers (who prefer rice) and wheat lovers (who prefer pasta) according to their dietary characteristics.

The results showed that those who preferred rice had a lower risk of excess fat and central obesity compared with pasta preferences, and this difference was more pronounced in people with a normal BMI.

If rice is used instead of pasta, the frequency reaches 5 times a week, and the risk of normal weight obesity in men can be reduced by 36.5%, and the risk of central obesity in women can be reduced by 20.5%.

Obesity, including excessive body mass index, excessive waist circumference, excessive body fat rate and other types.

Among them, the body mass index [BMI = weight (kg) divided by height (meters) squared] more than 24 is overweight and more than 28 is obese;

Normal male waist circumference< 85 cm, female waist circumference < 80 cm;

Body fat percentage is the ratio of body fat weight (subcutaneous fat + visceral fat) to total weight. Men with a body fat rate above 25% and women with a body fat rate above 30% are considered obese.

There are 3 reasons why eating rice is not easy to get fat

This study reminds us that rice eaters tend to have lower body fat and smaller bellies than noodle lovers. The researchers believe that it may be related to the following 3 factors:

Nutrients

Rice and noodles are important sources of carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals.

Animal experiments have shown that wheat gluten may promote weight gain by reducing heat production and energy expenditure; Rice protein may play an anti-obesity and triglyceride lowering effect by affecting the environment for fat breakdown and production.

Cooking method

The calories of raw rice and raw white noodles are similar, basically 345 kcal/100 grams. But once the raw rice is cooked and the flour is made into noodles and steamed buns, the difference increases.

Flour absorbs less moisture during cooking than rice, which can lead to higher energy density of wheat products such as steamed buns than rice.

According to the 6th edition of the Chinese Food Composition List, the calories per 100 grams of rice, noodles and steamed buns are 116 kcal, 107 kcal and 223 kcal respectively. In other words, noodles and rice have about the same calories at the same weight, but steamed buns have about twice as many calories as rice.

Eating habits

Studies in China and the United States and other countries have shown that people who prefer rice as staple foods often combine more vegetables, beans, lean meats and other foods, and have a more balanced diet, which is conducive to weight control.

People who prefer pasta often cannot consume enough vegetables and meat in a meal, and some pasta will add a lot of oil during the production process, such as Shaanxi's oil noodles, which may lead to nutritional imbalance and excessive energy intake, causing obesity.

How to eat rice noodles is not easy to get fat?

In addition to staple foods, obesity is also affected by sex differences and gene expression. Even if it is a staple of rice, it is not advisable to eat more than one meal. Whether you eat rice or noodles, 3 simple changes can help you control your weight.

Appropriately increase the consumption of rice

People who mainly eat pasta should pay special attention. There are many ways to replace rice with noodles, such as changing the noodles for breakfast to rice porridge, or changing a steamed bun staple to a bowl of rice.

Pair with richer ingredients

Whether eating rice or noodles, you should pay attention to vegetables, beans, meat, etc., which can not only increase satiety, control energy intake, but also make nutrition more balanced, which is conducive to weight control.

For example, in addition to the main food, breakfast can be served with refreshing and oily cold side dishes and a white boiled egg.

Choose a healthy way to cook

Rice noodles look light, but if you add more oil, salt and sugar, it is easy to increase the risk of obesity. A typical example is oil noodles, which have a spicy and attractive taste, but are made with more oil.

If you change to clear soup rice noodles, you can avoid the production of heavy oil, salt and some harmful substances, which is conducive to weight control.

There are also 3 principles that should be followed when eating staple foods

Food is good or bad, and the key to what effect it produces is how it eats. From the perspective of reasonable intake, people's daily intake of staple foods should account for 50%~65% of total energy intake, in addition to the following principles:

1. Less fine, more coarse

Rice noodles are processed too finely and lose a lot of nutrients, especially dietary fiber, B vitamins and minerals. However, due to the better taste, most people's staple food is still limited to refined white rice noodles.

The dietary guidelines for mainland residents recommend that the general population should consume 250~400 grams of cereal and potato foods per day, including 50~150 grams of whole grains and miscellaneous legumes, and 50~100 grams of potatoes.

In other words, coarse grains should account for about 1/3 of the staple food.

2. Change more patterns

When people choose a staple food, they should think more about what it is made of, rather than "eating steamed buns in the morning, noodles at noon, and dumplings at night", in fact, they have not jumped out of the circle of pasta.

Many families like to eat steamed buns, rice and fried shredded potatoes together, which is actually a "staple food with staple food". Potatoes are rich in starch and a staple food, and are lower in calories, more mineral-rich, and satiety than the same amount of rice.

When eating potatoes, remember to eat less rice. Also counting the staple foods are taro and oats.

3. Eat in small bites and eat vegetables in large bites

In the past, resources were scarce, in order to ensure energy intake, people often ate a large bowl of rice with a few pickles, and gradually developed the habit of eating large mouths and eating vegetables in small bites, which is very unreasonable.

You may wish to make the dish lighter, a large bite of food with a small bite of rice, the nutritional combination is more reasonable. ▲

Editor of this issue: Zheng Ronghua