When we think of foods that cause obesity, the usual culprits that come to our mind are fried snacks, sugary desserts, sodas and fast food, but there is another category that often goes unnoticed – foods that sound and look healthy yet secretly contribute to obesity if you are not mindful of it.

Starting off with everyone’s favourite and go to snack option:

Protein bars

As the name suggests, it does contain protein and sounds like the ultimate healthy option but many popular protein bars are loaded with added sugars, syrups and artificial sweeteners that exceed the protein in them. 

Some even contain as many calories as your favourite chocolate bar. What could have been a protein-packed, nutrient dense snack turns into a glorified regular candy bar but with better marketing. 

Eating them daily without checking the calorie content can easily lead to a calorie surplus, causing gradual fat gain over time.

Flavoured Yogurt

Many love a good, yummy strawberry flavoured yogurt, because it has the sweetness and goodness of probiotics for a healthy gut as well right? But flavoured yogurts do the opposite, since they are flavoured, they contain insanely high amounts of added sugars and these sugars affect your gut microbiome by destroying the good bacteria. 

So instead of boosting your gut health as a probiotic yogurt, it secretly damages it. Plus the added sugars in these yogurts, spikes the blood sugar, increasing insulin and fat storage.  

Granola

Granola is popularly known as a quick, healthy breakfast to kickstart the day, but it is made with oats, tons of nuts, seeds and especially dried fruits, which are all nutritious but also very calorie dense. 

It also contains sugars/honey or syrups and oils. Just one small cup of Granola can contain 400+ calories. It is difficult to stop with one cup and is easy to overeat, blindly and easily putting you on a calorie surplus which can contribute to obesity in the long run.

Packaged Soups

A hot bowl of soup feels comforting, but if it comes from a packaged soup form, that comfort is short-lived due to its negative impact on the body. 

The so-called healthy, packaged soups available in the market are loaded with sodium, sugars and cream-based thickeners.

This high sodium content can trigger high blood pressure, water retention and bloating. The thickeners and sweeteners added in the product can trigger fat accumulation as well.

Packaged fruit juices

Even if they are made with 100% real fruit, they are not healthy. Fruit juices are stripped of the fibre, and many packaged fruit juices are loaded with added sugars, flavouring, artificial colours and preservatives. 

Only containing a lesser % of the actual fruit and that too in the form of extract. Just a small glass of this can give your body concentrated sugar straight to your bloodstream, causing a rise and crash in the sugar levels, making you feel hungry, tired and messing up with your insulin activity. 

Most importantly, they are calorie-dense, you can easily go on a calorie surplus, which can lead to obesity if not monitored carefully.