Obesity is not made by eating too much protein. It is once again confirmed that the main culprit is excessive caloric intake, according to a study published in the January issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The experiment was carried out in 25 people who for two months fed on food containing 945 calories per day more than the average. Everyone was on diets with different protein content at the same time. They ate foods that in 5, 15 or 25 percent. consisted of proteins. Meanwhile, it is recommended that proteins come from 15 percent. daily calories provided with food.
After 8 weeks, body weight increased least in those who consumed little protein (i.e. 5% of the daily diet). They gained 3,16 kg, which is twice less than the volunteers in the other two groups. People whose diet in 15 percent consisted of protein, they gained 6,05 kg, while those who were on a high-protein diet – 6,51 kg.
The problem is that people on a low-protein diet increase in body weight by as much as 90 percent. has been associated with fat deposition. In the other two groups, he was only responsible for it in half (in the remaining 50%, the increase in body weight was related to muscle growth).
Protein is therefore important, but only when there is little in the diet and the food is high in calories at the same time. High protein content in the diet can have a slimming effect, which is why the Atkins and Dukan diets, also popular in Poland, are so effective.
However, no matter how much protein we eat, the amount of calories we eat determines how much we gain weight – says the main author of the study, Prof. George Bray of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Prof. Connie Diekman of Washington University in St. Louis emphasizes that the amount of calories consumed is more important than where they come from, such as food or sweets. The Atkins and Dukan diet has a slimming effect, as it quickly gives you a feeling of fullness, which reduces the amount of calories consumed.