Diet Study Lots of protein and little strength

Diet: Little fat and starch, but more protein

An extensive study on different diets has found which weight loss program is the most effective: high protein, low starch foods and low fat. The group with the highest percentage of protein lost the most body fat.

Almost half of the German population suffers from being overweight. Numerous diets promise a fast weight loss. But most of them shimmy from one „Jojo effect“ to the next. For a so-called Diogenes study, researchers led by Thomas Meinert Larsen and Arne Astrup from the University of Copenhagen accompanied 772 families with 938 adults and 827 children from different European countries. The study participants were prescribed a diet of eight weeks at the beginning of the study. Each participant should consume a maximum of 800 calories per day. On average, the subjects were able to lose about 11 kilograms of body weight.

After the diet different diets were tried. From this point on, only the actual diet study began. The Danish scientists wanted to find out which diet is the most successful after the first time you lose weight. The research group prescribed the study participants five different fat-reduced diet forms. These diets should be followed by all subjects for a total of six months.

Again, almost all participants of all groups could lose body weight. On average, everyone lost half a kilogram within the period. The researchers evaluated all the results and came to the conclusion that the diet with a high protein content (at least 25 percent protein as energy) and low carbohydrates was best suited, a typical „Jojo effect“ to prevent. On the other hand, those who consumed only 13 percent protein daily and compared more carbohydrates consumed the worst results. The difference was noticeable above all with a decrease in body weight. Between the two groups, the difference was around two kilograms on average.

This showed that a protein-rich diet variant helps either to maintain the lost weight or to lose even more weight. Starchy products such as white flour or potatoes should rather be avoided. Instead, according to study results, sufferers should rather resort to lean meats such as chicken and fish, low-fat dairy products such as yoghurts or fat-reduced cheese, as well as legumes, vegetables and fruits. White bread and white rice should be eaten as little as possible.

However, the results are diametrically opposed to EU health recommendations. Here it is still recommended that you should eat a lot of carbohydrates such as bread and rice and potatoes to avoid obesity and it should avoid protein-rich diet. In the course of this, researchers Thomas Meinert Larsen and Arne Astrup demand that the EU guidelines be revised and the study results taken into account.

If you want to reduce your body weight, you should seek nutritional advice. Here new eating habits can be learned and a diet plan can be put together. In most cases, it is sufficient to simply put more emphasis on fresh ingredients and consume less ready-made food. Because in those are numerous flavors that make the hunger sensation return after a short time. (sb, 27.11.2010)

Also read:
Study shows: a lot of protein helps to lose weight
Slimming products often without effect
Diet in Naturopathy
Danger of cancer: Too much acrylamide in food

Picture credits: Rainer Sturm