Abstract
Background:A high-protein (HP), low-fat weight-loss diet may be advantageous for improving cardiometabolic health outcomes and body composition. To date, only limited research has been conducted in male participants.Objective:To evaluate the medium to long-term effects of two, low-fat, hypocaloric diets differing in carbohydrate:protein ratio on body composition and cardiometabolic health outcomes in overweight and obese males.Design:One hundred and twenty males (age 50.8±9.3 (s.d.) years, body mass index 33.0±3.9 kg m−2) were randomly assigned and consumed a low-fat, isocaloric, energy-restricted diet (7 MJ per day) with either HP (protein:carbohydrate:fat %energy, 35:40:25) or high carbohydrate (HC; 17:58:25). Body weight, body composition and cardiometabolic risk factors were assessed at baseline and after 12 and 52 weeks.Results:Sixty-eight participants completed the study (HP, n=33; HC, n=35). At 1 year both the groups experienced similar reductions in body weight (HP, −12.3±8.0 kg (−12%); HC, −10.9±8.6 kg (−11%); P=0.83 time × group interaction) and fat mass (−9.9±6.0 kg (−27%) vs −7.3±5.8 kg (−22%); P=0.11). Participants who consumed the HP diet lost less fat-free mass (−2.6±3.7 kg (−4%) vs −3.8±4.7 kg (−6%); P<0.01). Both groups experienced similar increases in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (8%) and reductions in total cholesterol (−7%), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (−9%), triglycerides (−24%), glucose (−3%), insulin (−38%), blood pressure (−7/−12%) and C-reactive protein (−29%), (P⩾0.14).Conclusion:In overweight and obese men, both a HP and HC diet reduced body weight and improved cardiometabolic risk factors. Consumption of a HP diet was more effective for improving body composition compared with an HC diet.
Highlights
A growing body of evidence suggests that during caloric restriction, a low-fat diet (o30% fat), higher in protein (HP) and lower in carbohydrate, compared with a conventionally recommended high carbohydrate (HC), low-fat diet may offer a number of advantages.[1]
Three participants withdrew before the commencement of the study (HP 1, HC 2; Figure 1)
One hundred and twenty participants had outcomes assessed at week 0 and commenced the study, 68 participants (57%; HP 33, HC 35) completed the intervention and had outcome measurements assessed at week 52
Summary
A growing body of evidence suggests that during caloric restriction, a low-fat diet (o30% fat), higher in protein (HP) and lower in carbohydrate, compared with a conventionally recommended high carbohydrate (HC), low-fat diet may offer a number of advantages.[1] These include improving body composition by attenuating the loss of fat-free mass (FFM)[2,3,4] and/or increasing body fat mass (FM) loss[2,5,6] and reducing cardiovascular disease risk factors including insulin sensitivity and the blood lipid profile.[5,6,7,8,9] Despite this evidence, the majority of studies available that evaluate the role of HP diets as a weight loss strategy have been conducted almost exclusively in female participants.[3,5,6,10,11,12,13]. Consumption of a HP diet was more effective for improving body composition compared with an HC diet
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