If your body burns 64 fewer calories per meal because you eat processed food, you’ll gain a pound of fat in a month without eating more.
Scientific Claim
A daily caloric surplus of 64 kcal from reduced postprandial energy expenditure due to ultraprocessed food consumption results in approximately 1 pound of fat gain per month.
Original Statement
“That is a pound. A pound of fat that you gained. And you're sitting here tracking your calories, saying, 'What the heck? I've been doing the exact same amount that I'm supposed to eat. I'm eating the same calories and I put on a pound of fat or I at least didn't lose. This stuff adds up. 12 lbs over the course of a year.”
Context Details
Domain
nutrition
Population
human
Subject
Daily 64 kcal net energy surplus from reduced thermic effect of processed foods
Action
results in
Target
approximately 1 pound of fat gain per month
Intervention Details
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
Postprandial energy expenditure in whole-food and processed-food meals: implications for daily energy expenditure
This study found that eating processed food burns about 64 fewer calories after eating than eating whole food — exactly the number claimed to cause a pound of fat gain per month. It’s the first direct proof of how processed food might make us gain weight by slowing down calorie burning.
Contradicting (1)
Relationship between Ghrelin and Energy Expenditure in Healthy Young Women
This study found that a certain hormone (ghrelin) is linked to burning fewer calories after eating, but it didn't test ultraprocessed foods or measure weight gain — so it doesn't prove the claim about eating those foods causing 1 pound of fat per month.