Eat more (protein) to gain less weight?
Protein plays a big role in the feeling of satiety. But our current society tends to reduce its protein consumption more and more. A paradox for many: would eating more (protein) make it possible to gain less weight?
Are we consuming enough protein?
A recent study (1) conducted by Stephen J. Simpson and David Raubenheimer, published by the journal Nature would make a link between our decrease in protein consumption and obesity . Even if, despite this drop, our protein consumption remains above our real needs (3) , the proteins absorbed are not necessarily the right ones.
Proteins provide us with the energy we need on a daily basis. The most balanced proteins are animal proteins, while vegetable proteins are unbalanced.
However, the tendency to reduce proteins is mainly related to the reduction of meat intake, which, according to Patrick Tounian, interviewed by Atlantico (2) , professor of pediatrics at the Armand Trousseau hospital in Paris, would lead to a iron deficiency. According to him, 10 to 20% of women and children have iron deficiencies due to insufficient meat intake.
Is this deficiency related to obesity?
According to the journal Nature, our diet, whose proteins would be diluted, would not allow us to satisfy the feeling of satiety , and would therefore push us to consume more fat to stop being hungry.
Fats and sugars were rare and highly prized in ancestral times. This could explain why we tend, in our time, to favor fatty and sugary foods. But no link has yet been made between these 3 elements, namely increased fat consumption, decreased protein consumption, and increased obesity.
According to Professor Tounian, the link cannot be made, obesity being most often linked to genetic factors, as well as to the environment. The body regulates itself naturally for most of us. According to him again, a high-protein diet would allow the person to have a feeling of satiety very quickly. He would therefore have the impression of having eaten a lot, allowing the control of cravings, and thus avoiding the ingestion of more caloric foods. This type of diet has already been criticized (suspicions of deficiencies and renal risks), but does not seem to lack anything, being rich in meat, fish and dairy products.
So, can we answer the question: eat more to gain less weight, the answer has not yet been fully established. Obesity therefore has no single culprit.
This is also one of the conclusions of the study published on Nature by Stephen J. Simpson and David Raubenheimer: food rebalancing, good nutrition, does not only lie in reducing calorie intake. You have to be able to appreciate all the different aspects related to food.
Stephen Paul is the lead author and founder of My Health Sponsor. Holder of a diploma in health and well-being coaching with more than 200 articles in the field of health, he makes it a point of honor to offer advice based on reliable information, based on scientific research, and verified by health professionals.