|
Last Updated: Mar 29, 2009 - 5:58:43 PM |
Tuesday Dec 2, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- It may be easier for those who have excessive body weight to burn some fat if they use meals with higher protein, according to a new study.
Generally, researchers have found that overweight people are less efficient at burning fat after a meal compared with lean people.
The Australian study led by Dr. Marijka Batterham, of the University of Wollongong in New South Wales was meant to examine the effect of the meal composition on the efficiency of fat-burning.
The researchers found that overweight men and women burned more post-meal fat when they ate breakfast and lunch meals with higher protein.
Some studies suggest that higher protein diet helps people shed pounds more efficiently probably because protein suppresses appetite better than fat or carbohydrates although it is not known whether this is the best way to lose weight.
The study published in the journal Nutrition and Dietetics involved 18 men and women ages 40 on average with eight overweight and four obese. Participants' post-meal metabolism was assessed on three separate days.
On day one, participants were assigned a control breakfast and lunch consisting 58 percent carbohydrates and 14 percent protein. And on two other days, one third of calories came from protein and one third from carbohydrates.
When overweight and obese participants ate the control meal, they burned less fat than their lean counterparts. But the gap was narrowed when the obese and overweight used the high protein meals.
The protein rich meals used low-fat dairy, lean meat and eggs along with bread and vegetables. The researchers said they were testing to see if plant protein would have a similar effect.
Editor’s note: You can eat anything to lose weight! It’s not just high protein diet that helps people lose weight. High fat diet like Atkins diet and high carbohydrates diet recommended by Dr. Colin T. Campbell can help too.
The important thing to know is whether the diet can maintain healthy weight for a long term and whether the diet is nutritionally sound. Dr. Campbell, a distinguished research nutritionist who has published more than 300 research papers, said Americans have intake of too much protein and fat and too little carbohydrates.
He said the healthiest diet consists of large amounts of plant-based whole foods.
© 2004-2008 by foodconsumer.org unless otherwise specified
Top of Page
Search Consumer-friendly Health Sites
