This article has been Fact-Checked by Kendall Kennedy MS, RD, RYT
Choosing the right foods when trying to lose weight can be confusing with all the options. What about pears, are they good for weight loss?
Pears are a popular fruit with a typical shape of a wide bottom and a narrow top.
Like most fruits, many people will benefit in terms of weight loss by eating more whole pears. Find out just how good they are and some weight loss friendly ways to eat them.
Micronutrients in pears
The first thing to look at is the amount of micronutrients in pears.
Micronutrients are a group of nutrients your body absolutely needs to survive and thrive. Micronutrients include vitamins and minerals. These are involved in basically every aspect of your health, including weight loss.
100 grams of pears provides you with approximately (1):
- Vitamin C: 7% of the DV (Daily Value)
- Vitamin K: 6% of the DV
And some other vitamins and minerals in less significant amounts. The amount of vitamins and minerals is rather lacking compared to many other whole foods.
For most vitamins and minerals pears are not the greatest fruit.
Pears do contain antioxidants, substances that can help your body deal with oxidative damage.
Fiber in pears for weight loss
Another very important factor for weight loss is the amount of fiber in your food.
Pears contain around 3.1 grams of fiber per 100 grams.
That’s a good amount of fiber per 100 grams compared to many whole foods.
Fiber has multiple benefits for weight loss. First of all, it feeds your microbiome, the microbes that live in your intestines. The health of your microbiome influences your body’s health and weight. Feeding it well is usually not a bad idea.
Fiber also helps you feel less hungry without adding a lot of calories to your diet. Hunger and cravings can be a big pitfall for people trying to lose weight, so avoiding this is a big plus.
With the amount of fiber in pears you can reduce the time you spend craving for food a good amount.
Do pears help you lose weight?
You still need a final piece of the puzzle. The number of calories in pears.
Pears contain 58 calories per 100 grams. 55.7 of these calories come from the carbohydrates (15.5 g per 100 grams of which 3.1 g fiber).
Pears are not the greatest for low carb diets like the keto diet but you should be able to fit some in if you want.
The amount of calories in pears is not that high in general. There are both lower-calorie fruits and higher-calorie fruits. Compared to many vegetables pears are a little higher in calories.
That being said, pears are still generally a very low-calorie food that can help you feel fuller with its fiber content. This can help you avoid higher-calorie foods. For most people this makes eating more pears enough to help them lose weight.
If you don’t like pears you don’t have to go out of your way to force them into your daily eating habits, pears are not a unique weight loss food. Other foods can be better for weight loss.
If you are gaining weight while eating pears, the first place to look at is the rest of your diet and other lifestyle habits. Pears are generally not fattening.
How many pears should you eat a day to lose weight?
Nutrition is always a bit of a puzzle in terms of what the perfect diet looks like. It’s a pretty individual thing.
Consuming enough micronutrients is important for both your short and long-term health and weight loss. Pears don’t help you reach your daily micronutrient goals that much so you will need other foods as well.
That’s why something like the fruit diet, mostly eating fruits, or in this case something like a pear diet, is just plain bad for you.
If you have consumed enough micronutrients you can see how many pears still fit within your daily calories. The amount will be different from individual to individual from day to day, it can be 0 too.
Do pears burn belly fat?
Targetting fat loss in a specific area like your belly is generally not possible. Not by eating more of a specific food or by doing a specific exercise. To burn belly fat you have to lose weight overall.
Since pears can help you lose weight in general this fruit can also help you lose belly fat once your body wants to lose fat in your abdominal area.
Healthiest ways to eat pears
Pears make for a great snack on their own but they also combine great with other healthy foods. Here are some healthy dishes you can combine with pears:
If you are looking to lose weight you want to avoid recipes with pears like crumble, muffins, pear juice, pear jelly, cake and most other dessert recipes.
Pears vs apples for weight loss
A popular alternative to pears are apples. How do these two fruits compare in terms of weight loss?
Apples are about the same in terms of calories, 52 calories per 100 grams vs 58 calories per 100 grams of pears (2). Part of this is because apples are lower in fiber than pears, 2.4 grams per 100 grams vs 3.1 grams. Lastly in terms of vitamins and minerals they are very similar.
The difference will be very small but pears are likely slightly better for weight loss than apples due to their higher fiber content.
