PSA: Pasta Actually *Doesn't* Make You Gain Weight, Says A New Study
Despite getting a bad rap for being a refined starch, pasta doesn't make you gain weight, per a recent study.
Researchers found that pasta has a unique structure and a low glycemic response—possibly contributing to a healthy body weight.
"Pasta is generally not associated with body weight or body composition and may be inversely associated with BMI or abdominal obesity," the study concluded.
Good news for fusilli fanatics watching their waistlines: Eating pasta regularly doesn’t make you gain weight, according to this recent study.
Unlike other refined carbs like bread, rice, and potatoes, pasta has a unique structure and a low glycemic response (meaning it doesn't make your blood sugar spike as high or as fast)—possibly contributing to a healthy body weight, the study states. In fact, despite the negative stereotypes associated with pasta, researchers found that the low-glycemic carbohydrate has no association with body weight.
Study authors Lisa Sanders and Joanne Slavin analyzed 38 studies, exploring whether there was any connection between eating pasta and gaining weight. Specifically, the duo examined observational studies and clinical trials, which detailed pasta intake and body weight outcomes. Since pasta is a strict “no no” for so many people, their goal was to determine the role pasta plays in dietary patterns, specifically looking at BMI, weight loss, and the odds of gaining weight and obesity.
Their findings? "Despite the perception of some that pasta is a 'fattening' food, current observational evidence suggests pasta is generally not associated with body weight or body composition and may be inversely associated with BMI or abdominal obesity," the study concluded. As for how pasta influences body weight, that's "less clear," but the researchers said, "Slow digestibility resulting in a lower glycemic response may play a role and should be investigated further."
While the study said that additional research is "needed to confirm these observational findings," it did note that another recent study, which "demonstrated that pasta does not hinder weight loss or contribute to weight gain within a healthy dietary pattern."
It’s reasonable to want to avoid overloading on refined carbs, since the milling process removes bran, B vitamins, iron, and dietary fiber, according to Medical News Today. But if you're craving some mac and cheese, you should really just focus on portion size. The American Heart Association recommends six servings of grains per day—with whole grain preferred over refined—and explains that one serving of grains equals ½ cup of cooked pasta.
It also matters how you cook your pasta. Al dente is the way to go since it allows some of the starch to remain present, which means that the glycemic index is lower than when it's boiled soft, per US News & World Report.
While it’s hard to resist fresh, warm pasta, there are health benefits to letting it cool down overnight. During that time, some of the natural starches in the food transform into resistant starches, which have been linked to lower blood sugar, better gut health, and a reduced risk of certain types of cancer, per a 2022 study.
Cooking and then cooling pasta causes its starch molecules to become tightly packed together, making them more difficult to digest, Balazs Bajka, a gut physiologist at King’s College London, told the New York Times. In leftover pasta, some of the starch's sugar molecules become harder to break down, which results in less sugar absorbed into the bloodstream. This means that the pasta doesn't spike your blood sugar as much as regular starch does, Kimberley Rose-Francis, a dietitian in Florida, also told the Times. BTW, most of that resistant starch sticks around even if you reheat the food, according to Bajka.
Disclaimer: The study notes that research money came from companies like Kellogg and General Mills.
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