Fitness and Nutrition News

High-Protein Diets May Lead to Appetite Control, Satiety

By: Staff Writer | Wednesday 13 July 2011 09:00 PDT

A study conducted by researchers at the University of Missouri discovered that meals high in protein may help those overweight better control their appetites and potentially experience weight loss.

According to the study, higher protein intake improved satiety throughout the day for those involved, and lead to a lower appetite during the late night and morning hours than those on a normal protein diet.

"Research has shown that higher-protein diets, those containing 18 to 35 percent of daily calorie intake from dietary protein, are associated with reductions in hunger and increased fullness throughout the day and into the evening hours," said Heather Leidy, study author and professor in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology at the University of Missouri.

During their study, the researchers divided patients into two groups - one that ate 25 percent or calories from protein and one that ate 14 percent. Both groups had the same amount of total calories and percent of calories from fat.

Leidy and the researchers also conducted a substudy during the process regarding eating frequency. Members from both the normal- and higher-protein diets ate three or six meals a day. The researchers found the frequency among normal-protein participants showed no difference in terms of appetite or satiety. However, high-protein participants eating three meals tended to be more full and appeased than those eating six.