19 VotesToday's topic looks at some research examining the benefits of using a whey protein supplement. Often times we hear that weight loss is simply a matter of calories in being less than calories out but it's not as simple as that. Let me break down the specifics of the study below for you and help to explain why this supplement might not be a bad idea.
158 people between 20-50 years with BMIs of 30-42 participated in this study. (a BMI over 30 is considered obese) The study ran for 12 weeks and all participants had their daily caloric intake reduced by 500 kcal. Participants then consumed a whey protein shake or an iso-caloric (same amount of calories) placebo before breakfast and dinner. So both groups consumed the exact same amount of calories every day during the course of the investigation and consumed these shakes at the same time.
The results indicated that both groups lost body mass however the group consuming the whey protein lost more body fat compared to the placebo group. The fat loss for the whey protein group accounted for 6.1% of their reduced body mass. This value is important because for obese individuals a loss of 5% body fat is linked to a reduced disease risk in obese populations. Additionally the whey protein group maintained more of their lean body mass during the study. In other words the whey protein group kept more of their muscle mass compared to the control. An extra pound of muscle will burn up to an additional 50 calories a day so it is vital to spare lean body mass if the goal is weight loss.
I've included the citation below if you'd like to check out the entire study.
Frestedt, JL, Zenk, JL, Kuskowski, MA, Ward, LS, and Bastian, ED. A whey-protein supplement increases fat loss and spares lean muscle in obese subjects: A randomized human clinical study. Nutr Metab (Lond) 5:8. 2008.
Have a great weekend.
Chris
www.okanaganpeakperformance.com
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