Has the Obesity Riddle Finally Been Solved?

The results of a large diet study suggest that a diet high in proteins and low in finely refined starch calories helps lose weight and maintain the loss.

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen (Denmark) and other institutions across Europe reported the results of the Diogenes study, which compared official dietary recommendations with a diet based on the latest knowledge about the importance of proteins and carbohydrates for appetite regulation. A total of 772 European families participated, comprised of 938 overweight adults with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 34 kg/m² and 827 children, who were initially placed on an 800-kcal-per-day diet for eight weeks before the actual diet intervention was initiated. Throughout the project, the families received expert guidance from dieticians and were asked to provide blood and urine samples.

A total of 773 adult participants completed the initial weight-loss phase and were then randomly assigned to one of five different low-fat diet types to test which was most effective at preventing weight regain; 548 of the participants completed the six-month diet intervention plan (71%). The five diet types included a low-protein diet (13% of energy consumed) with a high glycemic index (GI); a low-protein, low-GI diet; a high-protein (25% of energy consumed), low-GI diet; and a high-protein, high-GI diet. A control group followed current dietary recommendations without special instructions regarding GI levels.

An analysis of the participants who completed the study showed that only the low-protein-high-GI diet was associated with subsequent significant weight regain. In an intention-to-treat analysis, the weight regain was 0.93 kg less in the groups assigned to a high-protein diet than in those assigned to a low-protein diet, and 0.95 kg less in the groups assigned to a low-GI diet than in those assigned to a high-GI diet. The groups did not differ significantly with respect to diet-related adverse events. The study was published in the November 25, 2010, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

"A modest increase in protein content and a modest reduction in the glycemic index led to an improvement in study completion and maintenance of weight loss,” concluded lead authors Thomas Meinert Larsen, PhD, and Arne Astrup, Dr. MedSc, of the faculty of life sciences at the University of Copenhagen.

The researchers suggest that if you want to lose weight, you should maintain a diet with a higher content of proteins with more lean meat, low-fat dairy products, and beans, and fewer finely refined starch calories such as white bread and white rice. With this diet, you can also eat until you are full without counting calories and without gaining weight.

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