"Eating a diet that is low in calorie density allows people to eat satisfying portions of food, and this may decrease feelings of hunger and deprivation while reducing calories," study author Dr. Julia A. Ello-Martin said in a prepared statement.

She and her colleagues compared 71 obese women, ages 22 to 60, who ate either a reduced-fat diet or a reduced-fat diet that also included water-rich foods.After one year, both groups showed significant weight loss and a decrease in the calorie density of their diets. However, the women on the fat-reduced/water-rich diet lost more weight during the first six months of the study -- 19.6 lbs. versus 14.7 lbs.The researchers found that the women on the reduced-fat/water-rich diet ate 25% more food by weight and felt less hungry than the women on the reduced-fat diet.

From the June 18, 2007, Prepared Foods e-Flash