Less protein makes you hungry, gorge on snacks

17 October 2011: Want to slough off that snack habit? Then, eat more protein as too little of it makes you hungry and reach for the unhealthy food.

A team from the Cambridge University and the University of Sydney found out that people whose meals contained 10 per cent protein consumed 260 more calories a day than those on 15 per cent protein. Not only did they eat more, but also 70 per cent of the extra calories they ate were snacks between meals rather than at mealtimes.

They also learnt that raising consumption to 25 per cent -- as advocated by the Atkins Diet -- was no extra help in halting over-eating.

“The results show that humans have a particularly strong appetite for protein, and when the proportion of protein in the diet is low this appetite can drive excess energy intake,” said lead author Alison Grosby of the University of Sydney.

For the study, the team recruited 22 volunteers, to live and eat in a science facility. They were all of a healthy weight and were aged in the age group of 18 to 51.

While the food looked the same, they had different protein levels. The amount of fat remained constant at 30 per cent of the total calories in a meal but the carbohydrate was adjusted to 45, 50 or 60 per cent of the meal.

The volunteers all did the same amount of exercise - one-hour supervised walk per day - and did the same activities to avoid them eating out of boredom or stress.

It was found that people who consumed 10 per cent protein a day ate on average an extra 1,036 calories over a four-day period compared with those who ate a 15 per cent protein diet.

Over a year that would be enough to gain over six kilos. However, eating more than the average amount of food such as meat, fish, eggs and nuts can stop you gaining those kilos.

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