Meat better for weight loss than high-carbohydrate diet
Warning of rising levels of obesity in Ireland, Dr Arne Astrup, professor of human nutrition, told delegates at the Bord Bia-organised conference that people on low-carbohydrate diets lost more weight and were more successful at keeping weight down than those on high-carbohydrate diets.
Prof Astrup, the current president elect of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, said the principal causes of obesity are the starches and flours that make up the major part of most diets.
Research by the World Health Organisation indicates that the likelihood of obesity is further increased by the high intake of energy-dense, micronutrient-poor foods such as chocolate, biscuits, crisps and chips.
Other likely contributors to rising levels of obesity include the heavy marketing of energy-dense foods and fast-food outlets, sugar-sweetened soft drinks and fruit juices as well as adverse social and economic conditions.
But for those seeking to lose weight, Professor Astrup said recent research has demonstrated convincingly that, on average, those on low-calorie/low-carbohydrate diets lose much more weight than those on low-calorie/high-carbohydrate diets.
Meat and dairy products replace high-carbohydrate foods such as bread and potatoes in low-carbohydrate diets.
Prof Astrup, director of the department of human nutrition at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University in Denmark, warned that in the US 66% of all adults are overweight while 32% are obese.
Half of all Irish adults are either overweight or obese, with the proportion of people here who are obese having increased by two-thirds since 1990.
