Why protein makes you burn more calories after eating
Thermic response to isoenergetic protein, carbohydrate or fat meals in lean and obese subjects.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
When you eat protein, your body works harder to digest it than when you eat carbs or fat — and this happens whether you're lean or obese.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 537 / 44
Evidence Score
A snapshot of a population at a single point in time. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine the direction of cause and effect.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
When you eat protein, your body works harder to digest it than when you eat carbs or fat — and this happens whether you're lean or obese.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 537 / 44
Evidence Score
A snapshot of a population at a single point in time. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine the direction of cause and effect.
Publication
Related Content
Claims (6)
Diet-induced thermogenesis is significantly higher for dietary protein compared to carbohydrates and fats due to the greater metabolic cost of protein absorption, transport, and amino acid metabolism.
People with obesity tend to have higher insulin levels when fasting and their blood sugar spikes more after eating carbs, but their bodies still use the sugar from those carbs just like lean people do.
Eating protein makes your body burn more calories after eating than eating the same amount of carbs or fat, no matter if you're lean or obese.
Obese and lean people burn about the same number of extra calories after eating the same amount of food, no matter if it’s protein, carbs, or fat.
Even though obese people have higher blood sugar after eating carbs, their bodies still break down and use the sugar from those carbs just as well as lean people do.