Consuming More Protein May Help Prevent Obesity

A multinational team of researchers has found that low levels of dietary protein can cause excess energy intake and could be a factor in higher rates of obesity. Participants in the study – 16 females and 6 males – spent four days on each of three diets. Those fed a 10 percent protein diet consumed 12 percent more energy over four days than they did on a 15 percent protein diet. Seventy percent of the increased energy intake on the lower protein diet came from snacks. The researchers said their findings have considerable implications for bodyweight management at a time when “foods rich in fat and carbohydrate are cheap, palatable and available” to an unprecedented extent.