If you haven't come across this term in the theoretical sense, you certainly have in the practical sense. This term expresses a fact that is good and important to know if we want our diets to be effective in relation to our goals. You may be familiar with the phrase: "...I really don't eat anything and yet I don't lose weight...!" So read on...
Whether you or someone around you has uttered this sentence or one similar to it, we will explain why this is so. If you googled, you would find an explanation on the internet that caloric density is the amount of energy per unit of weight or volume. But what does that mean in reality? It simply means that the amount of food does not determine its caloric value. It means that we can eat, for example, a small piece of cake that will contain the same amount of energy as a full healthy lunch.
So let's put this into practice. For example, if a client tells me that she hardly eats anything, is often hungry and fat does not disappear, she is mostly telling the truth. Upon closer analysis, I will assess that the person in question really isn't eating much. In terms of the quantity and volume of food, she does not fill her stomach with it and so the feeling of hunger is also out of place. However, if we look at the caloric value of the food consumed, it is quite decent. She is definitely not in a caloric deficit, and far from (or even despite a high-calorie diet) being filled with the recommended and appropriate amount of protein or fibre for it, which are also behind the feeling of higher satiety. Foods that are high in density are mostly poor in fibre and protein. Another example that may help you to understand this concept: we may eat a few biscuits for breakfast that we have open on our desk, have a latte with it, maybe a small sweet yoghurt later, and a piece of cake for lunch. We certainly won't be satiated, but we'll take in the same number of calories as if we'd had, say, a bowl of porridge with fruit, nuts and protein for breakfast, followed by a Greek yoghurt and a full lunch with a side dish, meat, vegetables and olive oil. I certainly don't need to write about the fact that the second option is far more nutritious and will contain all the necessary macronutrients, which will also contribute to greater satiety and are beneficial to our health, unlike the first option. And beware! I don't mean to imply that it's bad to have that cake too, if we feel like having it. However, the problem arises if most of our meals are just high calorie dense, if we consume frequently and predominantly foods that are small in quantity and grammage, nutritionally poor, but are calorie bombs for all that. This is when nutrient deficiencies cause us to be both malnourished (even though it may not seem like it at first glance) and lacking in protein, which is an important macronutrient. We don't get enough fibre, which, as we have already mentioned, contributes to a feeling of greater satiety, among many other benefits. We're not hungry and we feel like we're hardly eating anything and it's not going anywhere. Unfortunately, this is a common experience in everyday practice.
And since weight loss shouldn't be the only thing we should be concerned about, it's certainly worth noting that preferring foods with a lower calorie density are good for our overall health, too! I will repeat myself, but these are foods packed with everything that benefits our bodies and contributes to the proper and good functioning of the processes in our bodies. For example: vegetables, fruits, meat and fish, eggs, potatoes, legumes,...
On the contrary, high-density foods are mainly processed products containing large amounts of low-quality fats and simple carbohydrates, often with large amounts of flavourings, such as convenience foods, sweetened drinks, cakes, snacks,...
On the other hand, the opposite principle can be used by someone who, on the contrary, is not able to gain weight and chooses more dense foods. However, be careful, also here it is true that if our goal is not to gain fat, but quality mass, a quality diet must prevail. Only on quality you will build quality 😊.
