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Obesity has never been a more serious problem in the United States than it is today. At the same time, a recent study indicates that more Americans are dieting than ever before. Could it be that despite our best intentions, we were on a diet false?
In fact, this is precisely what a team of scientists outside the The Alberta Diabetes Institute at the University of Alberta suggests. Their new study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggests that while we’ve been busy struggling to survive on the high fat keto diet and avoiding meat to go plant-based, what we really need to eat if we want to lose weight is… more protein. (Related: 15 Underrated Weight Loss Tips That Actually Work.)
Scientists, led by University of Alberta professor Carla M. Prado, Ph.D., knew that “Total food substitutes” (short-term diets consisting of only nutritionally complete meal replacements) may be an effective weight loss strategy for people with obesity and obesity-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes. They also knew that diets that put The emphasis on protein can promote weight management through increased energy and feelings of fullness. What they didn’t know was how these two diet concepts could job together for healthy adults of normal weight.
Scientists recruited 44 healthy, normal-weight adults between the ages of 18 and 35 (19 women and 24 men) to spend 32 hours in a metabolic chamber (a sealed room that measures oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen, among others, to give a very detailed overview of the metabolism). The scientists then randomized the subjects into two groups and fed them as follows:
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Half were fed a total food substitute high in protein (35% carbohydrate, 40% protein and 25% fat).
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Half were fed a diet believed to approximate what the study authors called the “standard North American diet” (55 percent carbohydrate, 15 percent protein, and 30 percent fat. ).
Perhaps most importantly, however, both groups were fed same number of calories.
As it turned out, although they consumed the same number of calories, the two groups differed considerably in the impact of what they consumed on their metabolism. Metabolic readings from the high protein group showed higher levels of energy expenditure and fat oxidation (two indicators of weight loss) than the other group. In other words, it appears that the high protein diet was more effective in inducing weight loss.
And so it appears that eating more protein could be the key to unlocking weight loss, at least in healthy, non-obese adults. More research is needed on the long-term effects of high-protein diets and how these results might translate in obese adults, Dr Prado told Science Daily. However, this study should help scientists better understand the effects of high-protein diets while adding to the discussion that “a calorie is do not just a calorie. ”
heare 29 of the best sources of protein for weight loss. If you’re plant-based, here are 26 of the best vegetarian sources of protein.
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