The Claim

In lean adults, reducing dietary protein intake from 15% to 10% of total energy intake increases daily energy consumption by approximately 12% over a four-day period, primarily due to increased snacking on savory foods, which indicates a disruption in protein appetite regulation leading to elevated energy intake.

Source: Testing Protein Leverage in Lean Humans: A Randomised Controlled Experimental Study

What the research says

Supports is higher

Support is ahead, but a single strong opposing study can change this.

Supports
54score
Challenges
0score

These are independent scores, not a percentage. Higher-grade studies count more, so a single strong opposing study can outweigh several weaker ones.

Cause and effect
1 study reviewed
In plain English

When lean adults reduce their protein intake from 15% to 10% of their daily calories, they tend to eat about 12% more calories over four days, mostly by snacking more on savory foods, suggesting that lower protein levels may lead to increased overall food consumption.

See the scientific wording

In lean adults, reducing dietary protein from 15% to 10% of total energy intake increases daily energy consumption by approximately 12% over four days, primarily through increased snacking on savory foods, suggesting that low-protein diets may promote overeating by disrupting protein appetite regulation.

What the research says

1 study
  1. Study: Testing Protein Leverage in Lean Humans: A Randomised Controlled Experimental Study

    When people ate less protein, they ended up snacking more on savory foods and ate about 12% more calories overall, even though they didn’t feel any fuller. This suggests our bodies really want protein, and when we don’t get enough, we keep eating to try to get it.

Score breakdown, mechanism chain, raw evidence, ideal studies needed & 1 supporting studies

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