02/14/07 Protein Aids Weight Loss

Protein aids Weight Loss. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. A new study released in the latest edition of the journal Obesity found protein in the diet can help dieters retain more lean body mass - which includes muscle - while losing weight. Pork Checkoff spokesperson Ceci Snyder says this research is important for long-term weight control. SNYDER: It's a Checkoff funded study we do with Purdue University showing how the protein from lean pork can help you retain your muscle while you lose weight. As you lose weight it's important to maintain muscle because it burns more calories than your fat tissue or your fat cells. The finding is really significant showing how when you are on a weight lose diet it's really important not to exclude meat and specifically protein. The only meat in the study was pork so we think it's going to be great news for helping increase the demand for pork among our target female consumer. The Purdue study evaluated the weight loss of 46 overweight or obese women who followed one of two reduced-calorie diets. One group ate a diet that included about 18-percent of the calories from protein. The other group ate a higher protein diet of about 30-percent of total calories from protein. Snyder says the study also found dieters can stay on track when eating a variety of lean protein foods. SNYDER: The researchers were interested in how pork's protein can help these women feel full or sort of satisfied after meals and up until this point it's been sort of anecdotal evidence or we all know that intuitively that after you have meat in your diet you actually feel fuller and that was kind of the basis of some of the higher protein diets that were out a couple of years ago but the study is the first of it's kind to look at how meat satisfies dieters and they are actually able to scientifically measure fullness. It's called satiety and they definitely proved that those women on the pork diet felt fuller and more satisfied after the meals and they were even able to measure their mood through the diet and these women rated themselves more positively when they were on the pork diet versus when they were on the diet without any meat. Follow-up research is underway and Snyder says this work can help drive demand for pork. SNYDER: We're conducting a study right now that is co-funded with the Egg Board, with Egg Checkoff and Pork Checkoff. We think it's a great combination to show the power of protein in a healthy diet and being done with men so we can say beyond a reasonable doubt for both men and women that protein is an important part of a healthy diet. We think it's definitely going to show, just to build on all the great research that we have done over the years with Checkoff to really show our consumers that healthy eating is not just about chicken and fish, that certainly pork can fit. Contact the Pork Checkoff Service Center for more information. Go to Pork-dot org or call 800-456-PORK. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.