Counting proteins crucial for weight control

According to the findings of a new study, watchfully managing the percent of calories that a person derives from proteins may be an important key to weight control.

As foods rich in protein like eggs, meat and fish are more filling, they curb overeating, thereby aiding weight watch, researchers say.

The study
For the study, researchers at the University of Sydney, Australia, enrolled 22 lean men and women with an average age 24 years.

On rotation for four days each, all participants were required to eat a diet with three different protein contents -10 percent, 15 percent, and 25 percent.

When the participants fed on a diet containing 10 percent proteins they were more likely to feel hungry after 2 hours following breakfast vis-à-vis counterparts who fed on both higher-protein diets.

Feeding on high-protein diets also slashed the urge the snack mid-meals, researchers found.

Humans exhibit strong appetite for proteins
However, the researchers observed no behavior change during the times when the participants fed on 25 percent protein diet and 15 percent protein diet.

Participants on the 25 percent protein diet ate no less than those on the 15 percent protein diet, researchers highlighted.

“The results show that humans have a particularly strong appetite for protein, and when the proportion of protein in the diet is low this appetite can drive excess energy intake.

"Our findings have considerable implications for bodyweight management in the current nutritional environment, where foods rich in fat and carbohydrate are cheap, palatable and available to an extent unprecedented in our history,” study’s lead researcher, Alison Gosby, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Sydney, said.

The findings of the study are published online Oct. 12 in the journal PLoS ONE.