Why just three slices of white bread a day pushes you to obesity

A study in Spain found that people who ate three slices of white bread everyday were 40% more likely to be obese or overweight five years later.

15:45 30 May 2014

A study in Spain suggests that people who eat three slices of white bread a day are 40per cent more likely to be overweight or obese compared to those people who eat the bread just once a week. 

 

The researchers carried out a 136-item food questionnaire among 9,267 Spanish university graduates and followed them up for an average of five years calculating their weight gain over time. The findings were presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Sofia, Bulgaria. 

 

Lead author Professor Miguel Martinez-Gonzalez from University of Navarra, said: 

 

"Refined grains such as white bread start to taste sweet in the mouth almost as soon as you eat it, that is the starch being broken down into sugar. 

 

"It is this feeling that leaves you wanting more. When white bread is a staple food, eating at one or two main meals a day then this is a lot of extra calories on a daily basis. 

 

"The message is clear, go for wholegrains instead of white bread when eating your meals."