30 August,2011 05:13 PM IST | | AFP
A new study suggests that a diet high in protein and dairy is an effective way to trim fat -- specifically, belly fat.
The women were also put on an exercise regimen that included aerobic exercise five days a week and weightlifting two days a week for four months.
While the groups experienced identical weight loss, researchers at McMaster University in Canada said the group that consumed a high protein, high dairy diet experienced greater "whole body" weight loss, particularly in the hard-to-lose area for women: the abs.
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A hundred percent of the weight loss in this group, for instance, was fat. They also gained the most muscle mass of the three groups, adding a pound and a half to their bodies, compared to the low protein, low dairy group, which lost the same weight in muscle mass.
Adding that much muscle is a "major change in body composition," pointed out the study's lead author Andrea Josse -- one that brings with it a host of other benefits.
"The preservation or even gain of muscle is very important for maintaining metabolic rate and preventing weight regain, which can be a major problem for many seeking to lose weight," she said in a statement.
The same group also lost twice as much belly fat than the low protein, low dairy group, the study found -- an area that can foretell the risk for cardiovascular disease later on.
"Fat in the abdomen is thought to be especially bad for cardiovascular and metabolic health, and it seems -- according to what we found in this study -- increasing calcium and protein in the diet may help to further promote loss of fat from the worst storage area in the body," she said.
A 2010 study out of Israel published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition also found that a diet high in dairy coupled with increased vitamin D intake led to greater weight loss compared to participants who consumed a diet low in dairy products. Vitamin D helps bones absorb calcium.
The McMaster study can be found at https://jn.nutrition.org/content/141/9/1626.full .
