TUESDAY, May 1, 2007 (HealthDay News) -- Having a bowl of low-calorie soup prior to a meal may help cut your total mealtime intake of amount of food and calories, a new study suggests.
Penn State researchers gave low-calorie soup made of chicken broth, broccoli, potato, cauliflower, carrots and butter to volunteers before they ate a lunch entree.
Diners consumed 20 percent fewer calories when they had both the soup and entree compared to when they did not have soup, the researchers found.
The study authors, who were expected to present their work today at the Experimental Biology meeting in Washington, D.C., tested different forms of the same soup recipe -- separate broth and vegetables, chunky vegetable soup, chunky-pureed vegetable soup, and pureed vegetable soup. All versions of the soup proved equally filling.
"Consuming a first-course of low-calorie soup, in a variety of forms, can help with managing weight, as is shown in this research and earlier studies. Using this strategy allows people to get an extra course at the meal, while eating fewer total calories," researcher Julie Flood, a doctoral student in nutritional sciences, said in a prepared statement.
"But make sure to choose wisely, by picking low-calorie, broth-based soups that are about 100 to 150 calories per serving. Be careful of higher-calorie, cream-based soups that could actually increase the total calories consumed," Flood said.
The study was funded by a grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
More information
The American Academy of Family Physicians offers advice about weight control.
