More Protein Helps Athletes Keep Muscle While Dieting
Increased protein intake reduces lean body mass loss during weight loss in athletes.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
When athletes cut calories to lose weight, eating more protein helps them keep more muscle.
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
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Evidence Score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
When athletes cut calories to lose weight, eating more protein helps them keep more muscle.
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 538 / 90
Evidence Score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Publication
Authors
Mettler S, Mitchell N, Tipton KD
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Claims (2)
When athletes are trying to lose weight by eating fewer calories, eating more protein (about 2.3 grams per kilogram of body weight) helps them keep more of their muscle compared to eating less protein (about 1 gram per kilogram).
Increased total daily energy expenditure from high-protein diets is mediated by elevated fat-free mass resulting from enhanced muscle protein synthesis, not by sustained diet-induced thermogenesis.