Eating a meal with less protein makes you eat more calories — but not because you’re hungrier. Something else about the meal is making you eat more.
Scientific Claim
In adults on a long-term high-protein ad-libitum feeding study, the composition of a single self-selected meal is associated with changes in daily energy intake, but not with changes in appetite, suggesting that dietary protein may influence eating behavior through non-appetitive mechanisms.
Original Statement
“On the SSM day, percent protein intake was inversely associated mean daily caloric intake (r2 = 0.22, P = 0.03). [...] with no changes in subjective appetite scores.”
Evidence Quality Assessment
Claim Status
overstated
Study Design Support
Design supports claim
Appropriate Language Strength
association
Can only show association/correlation
Assessment Explanation
The claim implies a mechanism ('non-appetitive mechanisms') which requires experimental evidence beyond correlation. The study design cannot establish mechanism.
More Accurate Statement
“In adults on a long-term high-protein ad-libitum feeding study, the composition of a single self-selected meal is associated with changes in daily energy intake, but not with changes in appetite, suggesting that dietary protein may influence eating behavior through pathways not mediated by subjective hunger or satiety.”
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
When people ate a meal they chose themselves (not the study meal), they ate more calories that day—even though they didn’t feel hungrier or fuller than usual. This suggests protein affects how much we eat without changing how hungry we feel.