Breakfast protein could help with weight loss

Source: CSIRO.
Protein in the morning
could help with weight
management.

Eating more protein, especially at breakfast, could be the key to achieving healthy weight loss, according to a new report from CSIRO. Protein Balance: New concepts for protein in Weight Management, affirms the benefits of the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet for weight control and reveals that the latest scientific evidence supports eating at least 25g of protein at each main meal to control hunger and enhance muscle metabolism.

The new Total Wellbeing Diet Protein Balance programme focuses on shifting more protein consumption to breakfast. "The average Australian eats much lower amounts of protein at breakfast, so increasing breakfast protein may help to control eating later in the day," Senior Principal Research Scientist for CSIRO and co-author of the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet, Professor Manny Noakes, said.

"If you find it difficult to control what you eat, a redistribution of protein toward breakfast may be the answer to reducing your waistline without leaving you ravenously hungry and craving unhealthy foods."

According to the report, Australians get over one third of their dietary protein from low-quality sources such as processed foods, instead of whole protein sources including lean meats, fish, eggs, legumes and dairy. The CSIRO report showed that for most Australians, protein intake was skewed towards the evening meal, with only small amounts eaten at breakfast. On average women consumed 11g of protein at breakfast, compared to the male average of 15g.

The report also found that older Australians consumed the least amount of protein at breakfast but needed more protein to prevent muscle loss. "The scientific evidence supports a higher protein diet, combined with regular exercise, for greater fat loss. Eating at least 25g of protein at main meals can assist with hunger control," Professor Noakes said.

Adopting a higher protein, moderate carbohydrate, low Glycemic Index (GI) diet is a nutritious way to lose weight and has been scientifically validated for some time, underpinning successful programmes such as the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet. Since launching in 2005, the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet has helped more than half a million Australians lose weight.

"Two in three Australian adults are either overweight or obese, which increases their risk factors for many chronic health conditions," Professor Noakes said. "With a variety of genetic, lifestyle and personality factors at play, there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach to weight loss, but there is a range of healthy ways to lose weight.

"If we're serious about addressing this issue we need to continue developing a wider range of scientifically validated ways for people to lose weight, which is something CSIRO has done successfully over the years. Introducing the new Protein Balance programme for the Total Wellbeing Diet is another example of that."

Details:

The Total Wellbeing Diet 12 Week Program costs A$149 which is fully refundable if the subscriber successfully completes the programme.

Body confidence comes with age, says YouGov global survey

A recent YouGov global survey* has found that the majority of adults are happy with their weight and body image, and that body confidence tends to mature with age. The survey also notes that there is concern that celebrity culture undermines the body image of young people in nearly all countries surveyed.

For the US, Australia, and most of the European and Asia Pacific countries surveyed older people are significantly more likely to be happy about their body shape than those in their twenties and thirties.

Of the twenty-five countries surveyed, Indonesians are the most positive about their body image overall, with more than three quarters (78%) claiming they are happy with their body weight and shape. Residents from Saudi Arabia (72%), Oman (70%) and Qatar (70%) are the next happiest with their body image overall.

Men in general are more positive about their weight and appearance than women. Only in Saudi Arabia are women more comfortable with their looks than the men with 74% of Saudi women claiming they are happy with the way they look compared to 70% of Saudi men.

Looking at APAC countries, in Indonesia, only 75% of women are happy with their looks compared to 81% of Indonesia men. In Malaysia, 60% women are happy with their looks while 65% Malaysia men are happy with their looks. In Singapore, the percentages are 62% and 66%; in Thailand it’s 63% and 68%; and in Australia, it’s 58% and 67%. Women in Hong Kong are the least body-confident with only 44% claiming they are happy with their appearance compared to 55% of Hong Kong men.

In seventeen of the twenty-five countries surveyed more than half of responders think that celebrity culture has a negative impact on young people. In Australia 67% think celebrity culture has a negative effect on young people. In Indonesia, 58% think the same. However, people in Singapore and Malaysia are more neutral, with only 43% and 41% think celebrity culture has a negative effect on young people, while in Thailand and Hong Kong, a lower percentage of 38% and 37% response that they think celebrity culture has a negative effect on young people.

In general the countries surveyed in the Middle East and Asia Pacific have a more positive view of the impact of celebrity culture on young people. Around a third in the UAE (34%) and Qatar (31%) think celebrity culture can have a positive effect, along with 41% in Mainland China and over one in three (34%) in Malaysia and Thailand.

*The total sample size was 22,140 adults, surveyed in the US, UK, France, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Egypt, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Australia. Fieldwork was undertaken between April 28 and May 13 2015. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all adults (aged 18+).

Balanced protein intake slows dieters' muscle loss

Source: Nestlé.

The Nestlé Research Center, working with an international team of scientists, has found that a balanced intake of protein through the day can help reduce the risk of muscle loss when people try to lose weight.

The study, published in the American Journal of Physiology - Endocrinology and Metabolism, looked at how to promote weight loss in older obese men while avoiding loss of muscle mass which can hinder further weight loss and lead to reduced strength and functional capacity as well as increased risk of disability and mortality. 

In an international collaboration with researchers in Canada, Australia and the UK, Nestlé researchers set out to establish whether this loss of muscle mass could be counteracted by a two-pronged approach: 

• Ensuring that the protein provided by a reduced-calorie diet is balanced throughout the day rather than the usual tendency to receive the bulk of daily protein intake from the evening meal 
• Regular exercise in the form of resistance training

Twenty obese men around the age of 65 were recruited for a four-week study. For the first two weeks, they were placed on a low-calorie, high-protein diet and continued with their normal daily activity. However, half of the volunteers received a balanced intake of protein from the four meals/protein drinks provided throughout the day, while the second half received the more standard ‘skewed’ diet, with the majority of their protein intake coming from the evening meal. 

In the second fortnight of the study, the diet was combined with a whole-body, progressive resistance exercise regime to see if it would counteract any negative impact of the reduced-calorie diet on muscle mass. Rates of muscle protein synthesis – the driving mechanism behind maintaining or increasing muscle mass – were measured at the end of each phase by blood sampling and muscle biopsy. 

As expected, both groups displayed reduced fat mass and reduced muscle mass during the first fortnight when both groups were on a low-calorie, high-protein diet without resistance training. While the fat reduction was the same for both groups, the reduction in muscle protein synthesis rate was less marked in the balanced intake group. 

During the second half of the study with resistance training, both groups continued to lose body fat, but muscle loss was noticeably slower than after the first half of the study. In fact, with the balanced intake group, the protein synthesis was comparable to the levels seen with ‘normal’ energy intake before the study began. 

This research demonstrates that a reduced-calorie diet does indeed reduce the rate of muscle protein synthesis, confirming that weight loss can also lead to muscle loss. However, the study also demonstrates, for the first time, that a balanced protein intake throughout the day increases muscle protein synthesis when compared to a skewed protein distribution. This beneficial effect is further enhanced when combined with resistance training. 

The company notes that this research remains to be confirmed in long-term studies, and that the daily optimal amount of protein required to maximally stimulate muscle protein synthesis in older adults also remains to be established. There may also be differences in weight loss profiles for women.

*Murphy C.H, Churchward-Venne T.A, Mitchell C.J, Kolar N.M., Kassis A., Karagounis L.G., Burke L.M., Hawley J.A. and Phillips S.M., Hypoenergetic diet-induced reductions in myofibrillar protein synthesis are restored with resistance training and balanced daily protein ingestion in older men. American Journal of Physiology 2015.

Slimming fragrances might be the next big thing

There was a waiting list of 6,000 in the UK for Prends-Moi, a perfume, when it launched in 2012. Unusually, it claims to be a 'slimming fragrance' due to the presence of a plant-derived ingredient called 'betaphroline' in the perfume. Sniff, and Prends-Moi's maker Veld's says that it will reduce snacking.

TechNavio, a research firm, noted in a release on the Fragrances Market in France 2014-2018 that slimming fragrances are likely to fuel demand. 

"A fragrance manufacturing company launched a slimming fragrance in France, which has been developed for weight loss. It can be used like any other fragrance, but it also contains beta-endorphins, releasing ingredients that help in sending pleasure messages to users and help in fat degradation. Trial results revealed that the perfume helped users by limiting their desire for snacks. High tech, value-adding features in perfumes will help drive the sales of fragrances during the forecast period,” says Faisal Ghaus, Vice President of TechNavio.
There is some evidence that smells might help weight loss, but nothing quite like a fragrance that slims. In 2003, an experiment done with rats and grapefruit and lemon oils showed increased nerve activity in fat tissue when anesthesised rats were exposed to the oils, which the researchers took to mean that the smell of the oils could help weight loss. A 2006 study, from Korea, noted that rats which were exposed to fennel and patchouli oils for two ten-minute sessions a day for eight weeks saw a decrease in 'food efficiency' compared to a control group and rats exposed to bergamot oil. It's not clear however how food efficiency is defined, though it seems reasonable to assume that less food was made available for conversion into energy (or fat) after exposure to certain smells.

Another Korean study, dated 2003, compared aromatherapy massage to normal massage on middle aged women. The researchers claimed that the aromatherapy version had better results for overall weight loss, abdominal circumference and appetite suppression. Another 2007 study, again in Korea, had post-menopausal women undergo a full body massage weekly and massage their abdomens five days a week for six weeks. Half of the group were controls and used grapeseed oil for the massages, whereas the others were called the experimental group and used used various aromatherapy oils, including grapefruit and cypress oils. Abdominal subcutaneous fat and waist circumference were significantly decreased in the experimental group. While the aromatherapy component appeared to have been effective, the weight loss occurred after massage, and not simple spraying and sniffing as with perfume.