The Study
Protein-Pacing Caloric-Restriction Enhances Body Composition Similarly in Obese Men and Women during Weight Loss and Sustains Efficacy during Long-Term Weight Maintenance
This study watched what happened when people ate a certain way for a year, but it didn’t randomly assign who ate what — people picked their own diet. So we can say the people who ate the protein diet tended to keep off more weight, but we can’t say the diet made them do it — maybe they were just more determined.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
This study tested a diet with lots of protein, eaten in small meals throughout the day, and a little fasting, to see if it helps people lose weight and keep it off better than a standard healthy diet.
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 552 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — losing 10% of body weight is significant, and keeping 6% less weight off after a year means this diet helps prevent the common problem of regaining lost weight.
- 2People lost 10% of their body weight, 19% of their fat, and 33% of their belly fat in 12 weeks.
- 3After a year, those who kept eating protein-rich meals and fasting 1–2 days a month regained only 6% of their weight, while those on a standard diet regained 6% more.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Nutrients
Year
2016
Authors
P. Arciero, Rohan Edmonds, Feng He, Emery G Ward, Eric Gumpricht, A. Mohr, M. Ormsbee, A. Astrup
Related Content
Claims (6)
People who follow a very low-calorie protein-sparing modified fast diet lose weight faster at first than those on other diets, but after four to five years, the amount of weight kept off is about the same regardless of the diet used.
In obese adults, following a 12-week diet that limits calories and spreads protein intake evenly throughout the day results in a 9% reduction in respiratory quotient and no change in resting metabolic rate per kilogram of body weight.
Among adults who previously lost weight, those who followed a diet with two meal replacements daily and one or two fasting days per month regained 6% less weight and 12% less fat mass over one year than those who followed a traditional heart-healthy diet.
Over 52 weeks, previously obese adults following a protein-pacing diet with meal replacements and occasional intermittent fasting retain more lean body mass than those following a traditional heart-healthy diet.
Obese adults who follow a 12-week diet with high protein, six meals per day, and a 25% calorie deficit lose 10% of their body weight, reduce total fat by 19%, abdominal fat by 25%, and visceral fat by 33%, while increasing the proportion of lean body mass by 9%.
In obese adults, a 12-week protein-pacing and caloric restriction diet results in equal reductions in body weight, fat mass, and metabolic biomarkers regardless of sex.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.