Protein in meat is contributing to global obesity rates to the same degree as sugar consumption, a new study has found.
The research, which was carried out by the University of Adelaide in Australia, examined the correlation between meat consumption and obesity rates in 170 countries and found that protein in meat directly contributes to obesity.
Prof. Maciej Henneberg, head of the Biological Anthropology and Comparative Anatomy Research Unit at the University of Adelaide, says:"Our findings are likely to be controversial because they suggest that meat contributes to obesity prevalence worldwide at the same extent as sugar."
There are currently nearly two billion people worldwide who are overweight, and over 600 million of these are obese.
The findings of the study were presentedat the 18th International Conference on Nutrition and Food Sciences in Zurich, Switzerland, by Ph.D. student Wenpeng You, who conducted the study. He says: "Because meat protein is digested later than fats and carbohydrates, this makes the energy we receive from protein a surplus, which is then converted and stored as fat in the human body."
As studies have highlighted fat content in meat as a contributor to obesity dietary guidelines have focused on reducing intake of red and processed meats that are high in saturated fats. However, this study concludes that the protein in meat is directly contributing to obesity.
Prof. Henneberg says that it is important to show the contribution meat protein is making to obesity. "In the modern world in which we live, in order to curb obesity it may make sense for dietary guidelines to advise eating less meat, as well as eating less sugar," he concludes.
