April 07, 2026
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
Limited the variety of food in your diet might lead to greater weight loss, according to a new study from Drexel University researchers.
Many nutritionists say eating a wide variety of foods is the key to a healthy diet. But a new study suggests that eating the same snacks and meals may be a better path to weight loss and management.
A team of Drexel University researchers examined the effect of "routinized" eating among participants enrolled in a behavioral weight-loss program. Those who stuck to similar foods over 12 weeks saw promising results. Increased dietary repetition was associated with better weight loss — and so was caloric stability, or eating roughly the same amount of calories each day of the week.
The analysis used food diaries from 112 people. Participants logged daily calories and which foods they ate via the Fitbit app and weighed themselves on wireless scales at home. Those whose food entries were majority repeats saw an average weight loss of 5.9%, while those whose entries were mostly unique foods had an average weight loss of 4.3%.
The study also zoomed in on foods that appeared more than 10 times in a person's food log. For every 10% increase in the proportion of these high-frequency foods, participant weight loss increased by 1.6%
The Drexel researchers theorized that habitual, repetitive eating sets dieters up for success by making calorie restriction "less effortful."
"Limiting dietary variety may reduce self-control burden during weight loss attempts," they wrote. "On a practical level, repeating meals and snacks can make meal planning and food tracking, some of the most effective strategies for weight loss, more manageable."
This research relied on a relatively small sample size and had other limitations. Public health experts presume self-reported diet data to be biased since people generally underestimate the calories of their meals. The study also did not assess the nutritional value of the repeated foods, simply tallying any item — Big Mac or celery stick — that was logged multiple times.
Still, there is existing evidence supporting the study's findings. A previous study found that people ate more when presented with multiple sandwich options instead of a single filling, suggesting that variety stimulates food intake. Other research has concluded that repeatedly consuming a highly desired food decreases its desirability and appeal, making overeating less likely.
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