CONTACT:       Julie Miller                     303-850-3376             jmiller@beef.org

                        Diane Henderson          303-850-3465              dhenderson@beef.org 

CHECKOFF-FUNDED STUDY SHOWS PROTEIN-RICH DIET COMPLEMENTS EXERCISE

Dieters lose more weight, higher percentage of fat 

CENTENNIAL, COLO. (August 29, 2005) – Women who combine a protein-rich diet with their exercise program will have greater success losing weight, according to a study just released by the University of Illinois.  In a four-month study of 48 adult women, the group using a protein-rich diet lost more weight than those who combined the same exercise programs with the higher-carbohydrate, lower-protein diet favored by USDA’s food guide pyramid. The study is published in the August issue of Journal of Nutrition. 

Nutrition studies comprise one of the areas of research funded by America’s beef producers through the Beef Checkoff Program. This study was funded in part by checkoff dollars and coordinated on behalf of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and state beef councils by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA).  The NCBA serves as one of the Beef Board’s contractors for checkoff-funded programs.  

In the study, a group using the protein-rich diet lost a much higher percentage of fat – almost 100 percent. For the group using the high-carbohydrate diet and the same exercise program, as much as 25 to 30 percent of the weight lost was muscle. Muscle maintenance is important during weight loss as it is essential for burning calories.  

The women who participated in the study were actually divided into four groups. One group used the protein-rich diet and a light workout program, walking two to three times per week. Another used the same diet and a more intense exercise program – walking five times and completing two 30-minute weightlifting sessions per week. The other groups combined these same workout programs with the higher-carbohydrate, lower-protein diet. 

“Both diets work, because when you restrict calories, you lose weight,” said Donald Layman, Ph.D., professor of food science and human nutrition at the University of Illinois and lead researcher on the study. “But the people on the higher-protein diet lost more weight. Some people refer to this as the metabolic advantage of a protein-rich diet.” 

Cattlemen’s Beef Board member and Elgin, Iowa, beef producer Mike Cline, who chairs the beef industry’s Joint Nutrition and Health Committee, says the study confirms the important benefits of the protein provided by nutrient-dense foods like lean beef. 

“We have always felt that beef can play an important role in anyone’s diet, including someone who is intent on losing weight,” Cline said. “This study shows that protein-rich foods like beef can really help people lose weight -- and lose a higher percentage of fat in the process.” 

Beef Board Chairman Al Svajgr added that studies such as this help offset misinformation and some long-held misconceptions about beef.  

“Even with the lean beef cuts we have available today, we still contend with the myth that beef is not healthy,” said Svajgr, a beef producer from Cozad, Neb. “It’s a great investment of checkoff dollars when we can fund sound, scientific research to correct that image.” 

Svajgr noted that 19 cuts of beef currently qualify as “lean” under government labeling guidelines, according to the USDA Nutrient Database. Many of these cuts are 20 per cent leaner than USDA data indicated just 14 years ago. 

Editor’s Notes:

The full Journal of Nutrition article is available at:

http://www.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/135/8/1903?ijkey=V81doOzU21E4o&keytype=ref&siteid=nutrition.  

Formal reference for USDA Nutrient Database is:

USDA Nutrient Database, Release 17, www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp 

###