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American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 83, No. 2, 387, February 2006
© 2006 American Society for Clinical Nutrition

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

High-protein diet, obesity, and the environment

Franco Contaldo and Fabrizio Pasanisi

Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine
University of Naples
Via Pansini 5 80131 Napoli
Italy
E-mail: pasanisi{at}unina.it

Dear Sir:

Weigle et al (1) raise the intriguing question of whether high-protein diets are useful in preventing and treating excess body fat—a clinical issue that affects more than one billion people. They showed that a high protein intake reduces body weight by increasing satiety. Their study, together with the editorial by Astrup (2), raises the question of whether high-protein diets should be promoted in large numbers of people, particularly given the high protein intake typical of Western diets. Suffice it to note that the current estimated protein intake in the United States is already more than double the recommended amount (3). As a matter of fact, the human species is omnivorous and has developed very efficient adaptive physiologic mechanisms for fuel utilization, notwithstanding the feast or famine pendulum and that meat constituted the staple diet of our pre-Neolithic ancestors (4).

However, a meat-based diet—which has a high protein content—is largely less environmentally sustainable than is a vegetarian-based diet nowadays (5). A meat-based diet had little effect when the world's population numbered only a few million, unlike today when more than 6 billion individuals are competing for resources. Furthermore, a high-protein diet may have untoward effects, for example, on calcium and bone metabolism (6, 7).

In conclusion, the findings reported by Weigle et al confirm some basic physiologic concepts of human nutrition; a high-protein diet can have untoward effects, may be difficult to adhere to, and, most importantly, is not environmentally sustainable. Thus, caution should be exercised in applying the findings of Weigle et al in the clinical setting.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Neither author had a conflict of interest.

REFERENCES

  1. Weigle DS, Breen PA, Matthys CC, et al. A high-protein diet induces sustained reductions in appetite, ad libitum caloric intake, and body weight despite compensatory changes in diurnal plasma leptin and ghrelin concentrations. Am J Clin Nutr 2005; 82: 41–8.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  2. Astrup A. The satiating power of protein—a key to obesity prevention? Am J Clin Nutr 2005; 82: 1–2.[Free Full Text]
  3. US Department of Agriculture. Agricultural statistics. Washington, DC: US Department of Agriculture, 2001.
  4. Diamond J. The double puzzle of diabetes. Nature 2003; 423: 599–602.[Medline]
  5. Pimentel D, Pimentel M. Sustainability of meat-based and plant-based diets and the environment. Am J Clin Nutr 2003; 78(suppl): 660S–3S.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  6. Eaton SB, Konner M. Paleolithic nutrition. A consideration of its nature and current implications. N Engl J Med 1985; 312: 283–9.[Medline]
  7. Kerstetter JE, O'Brien KO, Insogna KL. Low protein intake: the impact on calcium and bone homeostasis in humans. J Nutr 2003; 133(suppl): 855S–61S.[Abstract/Free Full Text]




This Article
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