Pasta not to blame for obesity: study

Eating pasta may not contribute to obesity if consumed as a part of a healthy diet, a study has found.

Unlike most 'refined' carbohydrates, which are rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream, pasta has a low glycemic index, meaning it causes smaller increases in blood sugar levels than those caused by eating foods with a high glycemic index, researchers said.

For the study published in the journal BMJ Open, researchers identified 30 randomised control trials involving almost 2,500 people who ate pasta instead of other carbohydrates as part of a healthy low-glycemic index diet.

"The study found that pasta didn't contribute to weight gain or increase in body fat," said John Sievenpiper, a clinician scientist at St Michael's Hospital in Canada.

"In fact analysis actually showed a small weight loss. So contrary to concerns, perhaps pasta can be part of a healthy diet such as a low GI diet," said Sievenpiper.

The people involved in the clinical trials on average ate 3.3 servings of pasta a week instead of other carbohydrates. One serving equals about one-half cup of cooked pasta. They lost about one-half kilogramme over a median follow-up of 12 weeks.

Researchers stressed that these results are generalisable to pasta consumed along with other low-glycemic index foods as part of a low-glycemic index diet.

They caution more work is needed to determine if the lack of weight gain will extend to pasta as part of other healthy diets.

"In weighing the evidence, we can now say with some confidence that pasta does not have an adverse effect on body weight outcomes when it is consumed as part of a healthy dietary pattern," said Sievenpiper.