Obesity

Disease

Foods That May Help

Foods linked to Obesity in the research literature.

VinegarReduces risk of
1-2 tablespoons/day
A double-blind study found that one to two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar daily led to significantly more weight loss—about four pounds over three months—plus reduced visceral fat; Vinegar intake reduces body weight, body fat mass, and serum triglyceride levels in obese Japanese subjects (Kondo et al. 2009)
Source: How Not to Die
BeansReduces risk of
Weight loss linked to bean consumption
Source: How Not to Die
CranberriesProtects against
Diet rich with cranberry extract increases Akkermansia species that help in controlling obesity
Source: Nutrition, Food and Diet in Ageing and Longevity
Kokum (Garcinia indica)Reduces risk of
Dark red fruit of kokum has anti-obesity properties due to hydroxycitric acid
Source: Nutrition, Food and Diet in Ageing and Longevity
ChickpeasReduces risk of
Chickpea lectins and agglutinins can be anticancer, immunomodulatory, anti-obesity
Source: Nutrition, Food and Diet in Ageing and Longevity

Compounds That May Help

Bioactive compounds linked to Obesity in the research.

Oleic AcidReduces risk of
Replacing meat/butterfat with nuts, avocados, and olive oil could lose nearly 6 more pounds of fat in one month at same calories; oleic acid burned 20% more readily than palmitic acid
Source: How Not to Age
Alpha-Lipoic AcidReduces risk of
Systematic review and dose response meta-analysis: alpha-lipoic acid supplementation significantly reduces obesity risk
Source: How Not to Age
FGF21Protects against
FGF21 decreases body weight without reducing food intake in primates
Source: How Not to Age
Nicotinamide RibosideProtects against
In mice, NR enhanced oxidative metabolism and protected against high-fat diet-induced obesity
Source: How Not to Age
ResveratrolProtects against
In mice and primates, resveratrol might be most effective in improving the health of animals fed a high-fat diet (like our Western diet).
Source: How We Age
CapsaicinProtects against
Mice with TRPV1 knocked out are less susceptible to diet-induced obesity caused by a high-fat diet and are leaner owing to higher energy expenditure. So eat those hot peppers to live longer!
Source: How We Age
ResveratrolReduces risk of
Now it's thought that only mice fed high-fat diets benefit from resveratrol, which might be good news for those with pre-diabetes or metabolic dysfunction
Source: How We Age
ProteinProtects against
Protein intake at levels of requirement through energy restricted diets contributes to weight loss, while increased intakes are effective in maintaining fat-free mass
Source: Nutrition, Food and Diet in Ageing and Longevity
Short-Chain Fatty AcidsProtects against
The SCFA that are not utilized in colon may exert beneficial effects against diet-induced obesity and hyperlipidaemia by interfering with carbohydrate and lipid metabolism
Source: Nutrition, Food and Diet in Ageing and Longevity
ProanthocyanidinsProtects against
Proanthocyanidins from grape seeds, red grapes, cranberry, strawberry, blueberry have anti-obesity, anti-diabetic, anti-neurodegenerative, anti-cancer, and cardio- and eye-protective properties
Source: Nutrition, Food and Diet in Ageing and Longevity
Dietary fiberProtects against
Source: Young Forever

Risk Factors

Foods and compounds that may contribute to Obesity.

Methionine
Short-term methionine deprivation can slim 60% of fat mass off obese mice; may help explain why vegans are 40 lbs lighter on average
Source: How Not to Age
Branched-Chain Amino Acids
High-BCAA diet induces mouse obesity; reducing BCAA intake in obese mice caused dramatic fat loss without calorie reduction
Source: How Not to Age
Aspartame
Artificial sweeteners may paradoxically cause weight gain by disrupting the neurobiology of sugar cravings (Yang 2010)
Source: How Not to Die
High-fructose corn syrup
High-fructose corn syrup has been added to almost every American food product; 'low fat' diet foods have lots of HFCS, making it even more difficult to avoid a high-sugar diet.
Source: How We Age
Sugar
Consumption of added and free sugars is especially related to obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases
Source: Nutrition, Food and Diet in Ageing and Longevity
Fructose
Prediabetes (hyperinsulinemia) can lead to leptin resistance, which leads to further overeating and reinforcement of the entire pathway. Sugar consumption took off after 1982 low-fat guidelines.
Source: Nutrition, Food and Diet in Ageing and Longevity
Advanced glycation end products (AGEs)
Excessive consumption of AGEs has been implicated in obesity, diabetes, inflammation, aging, neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases.
Source: Nutrition, Food and Diet in Ageing and Longevity
Fructose
Rick Johnson noticed fructose consumption was an especially powerful driver of fat gain; 'We realized fructose was having effects that could not be explained by its calorie content'
Source: Outlive
Diet Soda
Association between drinking diet sodas and abdominal fat (Azad et al. 2017), but Attia notes causation is unclear due to healthy user bias
Source: Outlive
Sugary sodas
Part of the American 'heart attack diet' contributing to cardiovascular disease and obesity
Source: The Longevity Diet

Recipes That May Help

Sources

How Not to Age
How Not to Die
How We Age
Nutrition, Food and Diet in Ageing and Longevity
Outlive
The Longevity Diet
The Young Forever Cookbook
Young Forever