Effect of high dietary protein intake on body fat mass and subcutaneous adipose tissue gene expression in humans

Abstract

Increased protein intake is suggested to prevent adipose tissue mass gain thus being a promising weight management tool. Yet, no mechanistic explanations are availableThe objective was to study the effect of increased protein (P) at the expense of carbohydrate (CH) during overeating on body composition and pathways of energy storage in adipose tissue (AT).A controlled dietary intervention was performed in healthy subjects (male and female, n=27) who were assigned to 1 of 3 intervention groups. One group was given a balanced diet for 4 weeks. In a 2‐weeks cross‐over design 2 groups received a hypercaloric diet of +2 MJ/day extra with either high protein (HP, 40 en% fat; 26 en% P; 34 en% CH) or normal protein (NP, 40 en% fat; 15 en% P; 45 en% CH). Body composition (DEXA) and gene expression in subcutaneous AT biopsies (qPCR) were studied after 2 and 4 weeks of intervention.Fat mass gain was lower on HP compared to NP (−270g; p=0.02). No changes in expression of a selection of genes involved in fatty acid uptake, de novo lipogenesis, lipid storage, lipolysis and β‐oxidation were observed between diets.Increasing protein at the expense of carbohydrates in a hypercaloric diet attenuates fat mass gain but does not alter the expression of genes involved in energy storage in subcutaneous AT. Changes in total fat mass may be explained by changes in visceral fat.This research was supported by the Dutch Dairy Organisation (NZO).