Frozen foods are undeniably convenient, and help whip up a meal in a few minutes (as opposed to a few hours of preparation!). While this is fine to do once in a while, many health experts suggest not to rely on this method for every meal, as certain frozen products contain weight gain-inducing additives that could sneak in extra calories and other undesired effects without your noticing. With that said, we checked in with Susan Kelly, RDN, registered dietitian and nutritionist and Caleb Backe, certified personal trainer and health expert, to learn more about 1 type of frozen food that could lead to weight gain if eaten often or excessively.
Drawbacks of Frozen Pizzas & Other Cheesy Frozen Foods
When thinking about ‘frozen foods,’ this label usually means that a product contains starch, our sources explain, which keeps it fresher for longer. Eating excess amounts of starch could cause your blood glucose levels to rise, leading your body to be prone to weight gain, diabetes, etc. One frozen food that experts advise eating much of is frozen pizza or foods with frozen cheese.
“One of the biggest culprits of frozen foods that causes weight gain is frozen pizza,” Backe notes. “Delicious, easy to cook and with a very long shelf life, frozen pizzas seem to be the perfect dinner for when you can’t be bothered cooking,” he acknowledges. However, Backe says to “not be fooled by the seemingly simple ingredients of pizza base, sauce and cheese.” This, he adds, is because the average total of a serving is 400 calories, which accounts for “close to half of your daily sodium and saturated fats recommended intakes.”
Kelly agrees, and says to also “skip macaroni and cheese frozen items” if weight loss or maintaining your current weight is your ultimate goal. “Skipping macaroni and cheese frozen items is advised as a single pack of this has more than 500 calories, 50 grams carbs, 24 grams fat, 7 grams sugar and 1300 mg sodium,” she says, which can cause weight gain if a person “isn’t mindful” of its consumption. Frozen meals like macaroni and cheese, sausages and pizzas, she concludes, are “packed with calories, fat and preservatives that increase your risk of weight gain and health problems.”
