Protein diet, exercise aids
weight loss
URBANA, Ill. (AP)
A high-protein diet can make regular
exercise more effective for women trying
to lose weight — helping to build
muscle while trimming body fat, a small
study suggests.
In a four-month
period, the protein-rich diet along with
exercise significantly reduced abdominal
fat and triglycerides, risk factors for heart
disease, according to findings published
in the August issue of the Journal of
Nutrition.
"People thinking about
doing exercise want a return on that
investment," said Donald Layman, a
professor of nutrition at the University of
Illinois' Urbana-Champaign campus, who
led the study. "Our way of looking at it
is the protein-rich diet basically boosts the
benefit of doing exercise."
The
study was largely funded by beef and dairy
interests. A nutritionist not involved
with the study said that what the research
really showed is that exercise is
important for losing fat and preserving
muscle.
"That's exactly what we
want to have happen in a weight reduction
diet," said Roberta Anding, a clinical
dietitian at the Baylor University
College of Medicine who works with the Houston
Texans football team.
She
cautioned that diets should not be
protein-dominant and noted that the
average American eats "more protein than we
need to begin with."
Many
high-protein diets, such as the Atkins plan,
have fallen from favor with consumers in
recent months. Layman's diet for the study was
lower in fat and called for more fruits
and vegetables than the Atkins
diet.
The research was funded by
the Illinois Council on Food and
Agricultural Research, the National
Cattlemen's Beef Association, Kraft Foods
and the Beef Board.
Forty-eight
women took part in the study, eating
about 1,700 calories per day. Half ate a
diet rich in meat and dairy while half
ate a diet that contained more complex
carbohydrates, such as rice or
pasta.
Each group was then split
between women who were asked to walk 30
minutes a day, five days a week, and women who
were required to walk at least that much
and participate in two 30-minute weightlifting
sessions per week.
The
low-exercise group was voluntary and averaged
less than 100 minutes per week. The other
group was supervised and averaged more than 200
minutes of exercise per week, Layman
said.
All the women who exercised
at least 200 minutes per week lost about
the same amount of weight whether they
ate a high-protein or a high-carb diet. But
almost all the weight lost by those who
ate the protein diet was fat, while almost
one-third of the weight lost by those on
the high-carb diet was muscle.
While the
research involved only women, there is no
reason to believe that men would not have the
same results, Layman said.
Shirley
Washington swears by Layman's diet. Even
though she is still overweight at 267 pounds,
she has lost 90 pounds while following
it.
"It's been really easy," said
Washington, a 55-year-old Chicago
grandmother. "I tell anyone if you can't make
it on this eating plan, you can't make
it."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright
2005 The Associated Press. All rights
reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.