Table 2.

Foods can be divided into four categories of energy density (ED; kcal/g) to guide food choices and portion sizes. As energy density increases portion management becomes more critical (Rolls 2012, reproduced with permission from Harper Collins Publishers).

Energy Density (ED) Categories
Category	ED description	ED range (kcal/g)	How to eat	Examples
1	Very-low ED	Less than 0.6	'Free' foods to eat any time	Almost all fruit and non-starchy vegetables, and broth-based soups
2	Low ED	0.6–1.5	Eat reasonable portions	Wholegrains, lean proteins, legumes and low-fat dairy
3	Medium ED	1.6–3.9	Manage your portions	Breads, desserts, fat-free baked snacks, cheeses and higher-fat meats
4	High ED	4.0–9.0	Carefully manage portions and frequency of eating	Fried snacks, candy, cookies, nuts and fats