Is sweet potato good for weight loss? Shakarkandi, measured

109 kcal in 1 small sweet potato, about 100 g.
1.3 g protein per serving, from IFCT 2017.
Weigh-it carb on a plate built to lose fat and keep muscle.

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Yes, sweet potato is good for weight loss as a measured carbohydrate. One small shakarkandi (100 g) gives 109 kcal, 24.3 g of carbohydrate and 4 g of fibre. Roasted on a tawa with lemon and chaat masala, it is a classic winter snack that suits a fat-loss plan.

Medical review by a registered doctor on our panel is pending. Every number is from IFCT 2017, the Indian Food Composition Tables published by ICMR's National Institute of Nutrition.

Published 18 October 2026 · Last updated 18 October 2026

Sweet potato nutrition, per serving and per 100 g

Sweet potato: IFCT 2017 figures
Nutrient	Per serving	Per 100 g
Energy	109 kcal	109 kcal
Protein	1.3 g	1.3 g
Carbohydrate (available)	24.3 g	24.3 g
Dietary fibre	4 g	4 g
Fat	0.3 g	0.3 g

Serving: 1 small sweet potato, about 100 g. IFCT 2017 food code F013, "Sweet potato, brown skin (Ipomoea batatas)", the mean of 4 regions sampled. IFCT does not report glycaemic index, so this page prints none.

The verdict on sweet potato

Weigh-it carb

Fits in a weighed portion, counted as the meal's carbohydrate.

1.2 g of protein for every 100 kcal.
One serving gives 1.3 g of the roughly 58 g of protein a day ICMR-NIN's RDA sets for a 70 kg adult.
4 g of fibre in a serving.

How sweet potato fits a plan that loses fat and keeps muscle

IFCT 2017 lists brown-skin sweet potato at 109 kcal per 100 g, more than ordinary potato, with more fibre. It is not a lighter potato; it is a sweeter, more fibrous one, and the fibre helps a portion satisfy.

Count sweet potato as your starch at that meal. Roasted shakarkandi with a katori of curd, or cubes in a chana salad, makes a balanced snack or light meal.

Sweet potato in an Indian kitchen

Shakarkandi roasted in its skin on coals, in the oven or on a tawa, with lemon, chaat masala and black salt, is the street-cart winter snack and a good one. Boiled sweet potato mashed with spices makes a filling tikki cooked on a tawa. It is also eaten on fasting days in place of grain. Keep the skin on for fibre, and treat it as the carbohydrate of the meal rather than a side. Sweet potato fries from a fryer are a treat, not a vegetable serving.

Pair it, or swap it

Shakarkandi chaat with roasted chana and lemon, or roasted sweet potato beside paneer tikka, pairs the starch with protein.

Worth knowing

Sweet potato fries and halwa add oil, ghee or sugar. If you have diabetes, ask your doctor how starchy foods fit your plan.

Sweet potato against similar foods

Per 100 g, IFCT 2017
Food	Energy	Protein	Fibre
Sweet potato	109 kcal	1.3 g	4 g
Potato	70 kcal	1.5 g	1.7 g
Sweet potato, pink skin	108 kcal	1.3 g	3.9 g
Sweet corn	97 kcal	4.2 g	3.3 g

Sweet potato: questions people ask

Is sweet potato good for weight loss?

Yes, as a measured carbohydrate. One small sweet potato gives about 109 kcal and 4 g of fibre per IFCT 2017.

Sweet potato or potato for weight loss?

Per 100 g, IFCT 2017 gives sweet potato more calories and more fibre than potato. Both fit when boiled or roasted and counted.

Is sweet potato good for diabetes?

Many people with diabetes eat it in small portions. It holds 24.3 g of carbohydrate per small sweet potato; ask your doctor how it fits your plan.

Sources

[1] Longvah T, Ananthan R, Bhaskarachary K, Venkaiah K. Indian Food Composition Tables 2017
National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR), Hyderabad, 2017. Table 1, Proximate Principles and Dietary Fibre: energy, protein, fat, available carbohydrate and dietary fibre per 100 g edible portion, the mean of the regions sampled. Every figure on this page comes from it.
Read the source
[2] ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition. Dietary Guidelines for Indians
ICMR-NIN, Hyderabad, 2024. Recommends combining cereals with pulses in a 3:1 ratio for protein quality, meeting vegetarian protein needs from pulses, beans and milk, keeping added sugar under 5% of energy and salt to 5 g a day, and slow, steady weight reduction.
Read the source
[3] ICMR-NIN Expert Group on Nutrient Requirements for Indians. Recommended Dietary Allowances and Estimated Average Requirements
ICMR-NIN, Hyderabad (brief note), 2020. Sets the protein RDA for healthy Indian adults at 0.83 g per kg of body weight a day, and 1 g per kg for people on a cereal-based diet with lower-quality protein.
Read the source
[4] Wycherley TP, et al. Effects of energy-restricted high-protein, low-fat compared with standard-protein, low-fat diets: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2012. In energy-restricted trials, higher-protein diets produced slightly greater fat loss and better preservation of fat-free mass than standard-protein diets.
Read the source
[5] Shukla AP, et al. Food Order Has a Significant Impact on Postprandial Glucose and Insulin Levels
Diabetes Care, 2015. Eating vegetables and protein before carbohydrate in the same meal produced lower post-meal glucose and insulin than the reverse order, in a small crossover study.
Read the source

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