As we all know, being overweight is risky for our health, it can lead to various health conditions, same is the case with being underweight.
Underweight people also have various risk factors related to our body health, such as poor immunity, impaired physical and mental growth in children, complications in pregnancy, infertility, and nutritional deficiencies that can lead to more serious health conditions.
According to research generally, women are more prone to being underweight as compared to men. Though body weight depends on various factors such as body metabolism, genes, age, sex of an individual, etc.
But still, it is very important for an individual to maintain a healthy weight, so that one can live a healthy and disease-free life.
For any successful diet plan, it is very important to choose food wisely. Thanks to the internet, nowadays, most people are aware of various diet plans and foods that have to be included in their respective diets.
People generally cut down on carbohydrates or carbs when want to lose weight. But while gaining weight people get confused about carbs intake like what to eat and what not to.
One such example is what to choose between two major carbohydrate sources Roti or Rice. Today, in this article we will be clearing this confusion of making a choice between Roti and Rice in order to gain weight.
Rice Vs Roti Which Is Better For Weight Gain?
Before getting into the details let’s first see the nutritional value of rice and roti as this will help us to determine which food item will give you more nutrition and will help you in your weight-gaining journey.
Rice Vs Roti Nutritional Value
| Nutrients | White Rice cooked (100g) | Roti (40g) |
| Calories (Kcal) | 130kcal | 120kcal |
| Protein (g) | 2.7g | 3.1g |
| Fat (g) | 0.3g | 3.7g |
| Total Carbohydrates (g) | 28g | 18g |
| Fibre (g) | 0.4g | 3.9g |
| Sodium (mg) | 1mg | 119mg |
The above-given table explains the nutritional value of 100g of cooked white rice or 30g of uncooked white rice in comparison with 40g of cooked chapatti or roti (made from whole wheat flour). Now, let’s understand a little more detail about rice and roti.
Roti Information
Roti or chapatti is generally made of whole wheat flour or atta. It is an excellent source of soluble fibre. Whole wheat flour has a less glycemic index as compared to rice.
Roti’s nutritional value can be enhanced by mixing different flours with whole wheat flour. Flours that can be combined are jau, jowar, oats, ragi, bajra, etc.
There are many types of research that explain numerous health benefits of roti or chapatti: good for diabetic patients as its glycemic index is lesser as compared to rice, helps in lowering cholesterol levels, also it prevents constipation due to high fibre content.
But there are also some drawbacks of roti or chapatti: it is not suitable for celiac patients due to gluten present in wheat flour (gluten is a type of protein present in wheat flour), and as roti contains high sodium content it is not suitable for people with elevated sodium levels.
Rice Information
Rice is a staple food for more than half of the world’s population and 90% of the world’s rice comes from Asia. There are various varieties of rice available such as white rice, black rice, brown rice, red rice, purple rice, etc., out of which the two most common varieties are white rice and brown rice.
Brown rice has more dietary fibre as compared to white rice. White rice is a refined grain and has simple carbs which quickly break down into glucose in the body and provide instant energy. Rice can be cooked by using different methods like boiling, steaming and pressure cooking.
Some studies show various health benefits of rice such as: providing support to bones, nerves and muscles due to magnesium content present in rice, as rice is gluten-free it is good for celiac patients.
Some studies show that it also improves colon health because rice has a high amount of resistant starch that can form specific fatty acids which help in keeping the colon healthy.
There are also risk factors of consuming rice, it can increase your sugar levels as the glycemic index of rice is higher than roti, so for diabetic patients, it is better to avoid rice or one can have it in very fewer quantities.
Rice or Roti which is best for weight gain?
Roti and Rice both are staple foods of India. Consumption of these two staple foods majorly depends on the region in which people are residing.
Rice and Roti grow in different regions depending upon the climatic conditions of the region and soil of that particular region.
People living in the northern region of India majorly consume wheat, while people living in the southern and eastern regions majorly consume rice.
But before learning in detail about rice and roti, firstly let’s understand carbohydrates, as both rice and roti are the major sources of carbohydrates.
Carbohydrate is a very important nutrient for our body, its major function is to provide energy to the body. We can walk, sit, stand, work, exercise, etc, with the energy that our body has, and this energy comes from carbohydrates.
Thus, carbohydrates play a very important role in our body’s functioning. We can’t fully omit carbs from our diet as our body needs this important nutrient to function in a proper manner.
Now, let’s start with our topic of roti vs rice for weight gain. Rice and roti both are sources of carbohydrates. Both are obtained by processing grains. There is not much difference in the nutritional value of rice and roti.
The major difference between rice and roti is that rice digests quicker thus, providing a quick calorie boost as compared to roti. In comparison, roti digests slower as compared to rice because roti has more dietary fibre than rice.
As rice is calorie dense, which means it contains a high amount of carbohydrates and calories, it will help you in gaining weight faster. One quickly feels full after having a bowl of rice, but after some time one will again feel hungry.
Rice will not give you satiety because it contains less amount of dietary fibre as compared to roti, in this way it will help an individual to have more calories in order to gain weight.
But on the other hand, roti gives you satiety as it will take time to digest and you will not feel hungry for a prolonged period of time after having roti, thus, an individual will end up having a lesser number of calories in his or her diet.
Roti is more nutritional because it contains more dietary fibre, proteins and fats as compared to rice. Also, roti has more sodium content as compared to rice.
Roti cannot only be made of wheat but also it can be prepared with cereals like barley, ragi, millets, oats, etc. which helps to enhance its nutritional value.
Whereas, white rice contains more carbohydrates as compared to brown rice which has a little bit of high dietary fibre than white rice. But most people choose white rice over brown rice.
Rice when combined with dal or lentils will enhance its nutritional value. Together it will provide all the amino acids and form a complete source of protein, which is absent in most plant-based foods.
Thus, this combination enhances the nutritional value of rice and provides carbohydrates as well as proteins to the body.
Conclusion:
The bottom line is both rice and roti have their own pros and cons. An individual who wants to gain weight can have both rice and roti for proper nutritional intake, no need to choose either of them, only one needs to consider the quantity of both rice and roti one will be having, also the calorie intake for the whole day.
Even if you are on weight gain you have to take calories in adequate amounts as required by the body, more calories can lead to other health conditions.
In any case, the quantity of the food does matter because if you are eating more calories than required by your body, it can cause various health problems.
Same way, if one will be having fewer calories as required by the body, it can also lead to certain health conditions. So, the portion size does matters in both cases. Also, it is important to gain weight in a healthy way.
