Abstract
Energy density is a relatively new concept that has been identified as an important
factor in body weight control in adults and in children and adolescents. The Dietary
Guidelines for Americans 2010 encourages consumption of an eating pattern low in energy
density to manage body weight. This article describes the systematic evidence-based
review conducted by the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC), with support
from the US Department of Agriculture's Nutrition Evidence Library, which resulted
in this recommendation. An update to the committee's review was prepared for this
article. PubMed was searched for English-language publications from January 1980 to
May 2011. The literature review included 17 studies (seven randomized controlled trials,
one nonrandomized controlled trial, and nine cohort studies) in adults and six cohort
studies in children and adolescents. Based on this evidence, the 2010 Dietary Guidelines
Advisory Committee concluded that strong and consistent evidence in adults indicates
that dietary patterns relatively low in energy density improve weight loss and weight
maintenance. In addition, the committee concluded that there was moderately strong
evidence from methodologically rigorous longitudinal cohort studies in children and
adolescents to suggest that there is a positive association between dietary energy
density and increased adiposity. This review supports a relationship between energy
density and body weight in adults and in children and adolescents such that consuming
diets lower in energy density may be an effective strategy for managing body weight.
Keywords
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Biography
R. Pérez-Escamilla is a professor of epidemiology and public health director, Office of Community Health, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT
Biography
J. E. Obbagy is a nutritionist/project manager, Evidence Analysis Library Division, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, US Department of Agriculture, Alexandria, VA
Biography
J. M. Altman is a nutritionist/project manager, Evidence Analysis Library Division, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, US Department of Agriculture, Alexandria, VA
Biography
E. V. Essery is a nutritionist/project manager, Evidence Analysis Library Division, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, US Department of Agriculture, Alexandria, VA
Biography
M. M. McGrane is a nutritionist/project manager, Evidence Analysis Library Division, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, US Department of Agriculture, Alexandria, VA
Biography
Y. P. Wong is a research librarian, Evidence Analysis Library Division, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, US Department of Agriculture, Alexandria, VA
Biography
J. M. Spahn is director/nutritionist, Evidence Analysis Library Division, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, US Department of Agriculture, Alexandria, VA
Biography
C. L. Williams is a nutrition/science consultant and president, Healthy Directions, Inc, Scarsdale, NY
Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 05, 2012
Accepted:
January 19,
2012
Footnotes
Meets Learning Need Codes 4000, 4030, 5370, and 9020. To take the Continuing Professional Education quiz for this article, log in to www.eatright.org, click the “MyProfile” link under your name at the top of the homepage, select “Journal Quiz” from the menu on your myAcademy page, click “Journal Article Quiz” on the next page, and then click the “Additional Journal CPE Articles” button to view a list of available quizzes, from which you may select the quiz for this article.
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Available online 3 April 2012
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
