THE EFFECT OF A HIGH PROTEIN DIET ON WEIGHT LOSS, WEIGHT MAINTENANCE AND METABOLIC RISK FACTORS.

As the obesity epidemic rises in our country, many diets are being studied to identify safe and effective ways in which overweight and obese individuals can lose weight and keep it off. The purpose of this systematic review was to compare rapid weight loss, overall weight loss management and metabolic risk factors associated with consuming a high-protein, low-fat diet compared to a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet in healthy obese adults. A search was executed using the EBSCO and PubMed databases with the search terms “high-protein diet” and “weight loss”. Inclusion criteria included original research studies published in English within the past 15 years. Six randomized controlled studies were reviewed that compared high-protein diets with high carbohydrate diets. All six studies measured weight loss and overall weight maintenance and five of the studies measured metabolic risks factors. Overall, the findings suggest a positive correlation between weight loss, weight management and improvement in metabolic risk factors with consumption of a high-protein, low fat diet in healthy obese adults compared to consumption of a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet. More research is needed to examine the metabolic risk factors associated with consuming a high-protein, low-fat diet for longer than one year.