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Eating pasta can help you lose weight, according to Italian researchers.

The classic Italian food is often avoided by dieters due to its high carbohydrate content, but scientists are now claiming it can help people lose weight.

The study analysed the diets of more than 23,000 people from two different areas of Italy, with participants logging everything they ate in a diary.

When researchers compared the amount of pasta each person ate per day to their body mass index, waist and hip measurement, they found a direct link to people eating pasta being slimmer.

Licia Iacoviello, of the Neuromed Institute in Pozzilli, Italy, which carried out the research, said: “In popular views pasta is often considered not adequate when you want to lose weight. And some people completely ban it from their meals.

“In light of this research we can say that this is not a correct attitude. We’re talking about a fundamental component of Italian Mediterranean tradition, and there is no reason to do without it.”

The study found people who regularly ate pasta followed a traditional Mediterranean diet of eating lots of vegetables, olive oil and oily fish.

Lead author of the paper, George Pounis added: “Our data shows that enjoying pasta according to individuals’ needs contributes to a healthy body mass index, lower waist circumference and better waist to hip ratio.”

The research was published in the Nutrition and Diabetes journal.