The Study
Thermic effect of feeding in man: increased plasma norepinephrine levels following glucose but not protein or fat consumption.
We don't know how the study was done, so we can't say if eating protein really makes your body burn more calories. It's like seeing a picture of a cookie but not knowing how it was baked — we can't trust what it says.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
After eating protein, your body uses more energy to digest it than when you eat carbs or fat. But this doesn't happen because your stress system turns on.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 520 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — eating protein may help you burn a bit more calories after meals, but it's not because your body gets stressed out.
- 2Protein burns more calories during digestion than carbs or fat.
- 3Norepinephrine (a stress hormone) didn't rise after eating protein or fat.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Metabolism: clinical and experimental
Year
1981
Authors
S. Welle, U. Lilavivat, R. Campbell
Related Content
Claims (3)
Eating protein causes the body to burn more calories during digestion than eating the same amount of carbohydrates or fats.
Eating protein causes the body to burn more calories during digestion than eating the same amount of carbohydrates or fats.
Eating protein or fat does not cause an increase in norepinephrine in the blood, which means the sympathetic nervous system does not become more active after consuming these nutrients.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.