A
higher-protein, lower-carbohydrate energy-restricted diet has a major positive
impact on body composition, trimming belly fat and increasing lean muscle, particularly when the proteins come from dairy products,
according to a new research.
The
study compared three groups of overweight and obese, but otherwise healthy,
premenopausal women. Each consumed either low, medium or high amounts of dairy
foods coupled with higher or lower amounts of protein and carbohydrates.
The
women exercised seven days per week for four months, a routine that included
five days of aerobic exercise and two days of circuit weightlifting.
The
researchers said that there were identical total weight losses among the groups,
but the higher-protein, high-dairy group experienced greater whole-body fat and
abdomen fat losses, greater lean mass gains and greater increases in
strength.
According
to the researchers, the tissue composition, exclusively fat, of the weight the
women lost has profound implications for longer-term health.
“One
hundred per cent of the weight lost in the higher-protein, high-dairy group was
fat. And the participants gained muscle mass, which is a major change in body
composition,” said Andrea Josse, lead author of the study and a graduate student
in the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster University.
“The
preservation or even gain of muscle is very important for maintaining metabolic
rate and preventing weight regain, which can be major problem for many seeking
to lose weight,” added Josse.
Researchers
found the lower-protein, low-dairy group lost about a pound and half of muscle
whereas the lower-protein, medium dairy group lost almost no muscle. In marked
contrast, the higher-protein, high-dairy group actually gained a pound and half
of muscle, representing a three-pound difference between the low- and high-dairy
groups.
On
top of the muscle mass differences, the higher-protein, high-dairy group lost
twice as much belly fat than the lower-protein, low-dairy group.
“Fat
in the abdomen is thought to be especially bad for cardiovascular and metabolic
health, and it seems—according to what we found in this study—increasing calcium
and protein in the diet may help to further promote loss of fat from the worst
storage area in the body,” said Josse.
The
study has been published in the Journal of Nutrition.
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