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CSIRO research supports protein diet

TUESDAY, JANUARY 07, 2003

A recent CSIRO study revealed that a high protein, low fat diet was best for losing weight as well as reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes and "Syndrome X".
 
Metabolic syndrome - also known as Insulin Resistance Syndrome, (Syndrome X), the disease of the new millennium - is a topical issue because of growing alarm caused by the obesity epidemic and rise of diabetes worldwide. Over half of Australians are at risk of developing the disorder.
 
Characterised by a number of factors including abdominal fat, high triglycerides, low levels of HDL cholesterol, high insulin, high blood glucose and high blood pressure, the combination increases a person's risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
 
Funded by the Meat and Livestock Association of Australia, the CSIRO's controlled study compared the effectiveness of two different dietary programs - high protein, low fat versus high carbohydrate, low fat - with 100 overweight and obese women over a 12-week period.
 
Researchers assessed the effectiveness of both diets in the amount of body weight lost and body composition in all participants. In addition, the impact of these diets on nutrient status and bone turnover markers, measures of heart disease and diabetes risk, were also monitored.
 
The results showed that overweight women with high triglycerides - one of the key markers of metabolic syndrome - lost 25% more weight on a high protein, low fat diet than a high carbohydrate, low fat diet.
 
Much of this extra weight loss was in the abdominal area, which is crucial to improving their metabolic syndrome risk profile.
 
Importantly the actual body fat loss over the 12-week period significantly differed when comparing the two diets - a loss of 6kg in the high protein group as opposed to 3kg in the high carbohydrate group.
 
The overall weight loss in the high protein group was 8kg compared to only a 6kg loss in the high carbohydrate group, with the amount of weight lost specifically from the midriff area twice as high on the high protein diet (1kg compared to 500g).
 
In all the women, weight loss also helped to improve their risk profile in terms of lowering LDL cholesterol, lowering their triglycerides and reducing insulin and glucose.  The effects of diet type was more apparent in the women with high triglycerides as the high protein diet lowered their triglycerides significantly by 28% compared to only a 10% fall in the high carbohydrate group.
 
The study also indicated that, as well as helping weight loss in the long run, the high protein, low fat diet helped to stabilise glucose and insulin production which may help to control hunger.
 
Protein-rich foods have a high satiety value which may explain why participants found the high protein, low fat diet easier to follow for a long period of time as people feel more satisfied and less hungry - a finding confirmed by the compliance rates on both diets. Drop outs on the high carbohydrate, low fat diet was three times greater than those on the high protein, low fat diet.
 
Dr Manny Noakes, Senior Research Dietitian at CSIRO Health Sciences and Nutrition, says she is confident that protein-rich diets like that in the research are a valid, safe and effective weight loss program for those people showing symptoms of metabolic syndrome.
 
Participants in the study ate 200g of lean red meat at evening meals and 100g of chicken or fish at lunch, as well as low fat dairy products, and still included some carbohydrates such as fruit and bread.
 
"This study is significant because so little research has been done in the area.  Diet books on the subject are centered on conjecture and recommendations are often based on hearsay," she said.
 
"At CSIRO we're excited by these findings that demonstrate in a scientific manner that the high protein, low fat approach to weight loss certainly offers an edge to conventional diets.
 
"The high protein, low fat diet is an effective and perfectly valid and safe weight loss alternative - especially for women with high triglycerides.
 
"When preparing the diet structure initially, we discovered the required nutrient intake was far easier to achieve with the high protein, low fat diet than with the high carbohydrate, low fat diet.
 
"The results prove that a high protein, low fat diet may be easier and more effective in achieving weight loss for people suffering from metabolic syndrome."
 

MEAL PLANS IN THE CSIRO STUDY
 
High Protein, Low Fat Meal Plan
PCF 34:46:20 (overall percentage)
High Carbohydrate, Low Fat Meal Plan
PCF 17:63:20 (overall percentage)
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