DOES AN INCREASE IN

PROTEIN INTAKE AND MEAL

FREQUENCY REDUCE
ABDOMINAL FAT DURING
WEIGHT MAINTENANCE AND
WEIGHT LOSS?

1 Presley Omorodion, Arthur Opila

 BODY COMPOSITION OF
CANADIAN ADULTS
Body composition is an important indicator of the
health of individuals and populations

In 2009 to 2011, 67% of Canadian men and 54%

of Canadian women aged 18 to 79 were
overweight or obese (Statistics Canada, 2012b).

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PERCENTAGE WHO WERE UNDERWEIGHT, NORMAL WEIGHT,
OVERWEIGHT AND OBESE, BY AGE GROUP, HOUSEHOLD
POPULATION 18 OR OLDER, CANADA, 2010 (STATSCAN.GC.CA)

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BMI CLASSIFICATIONS & RISKS
TABLE

BMI (kg/m2) Classification Risk of developing

health problems
<18.5 Underweight Increased
18.5 24.9 Normal Least
25.0 29.9 Overweight Increased
30.0 34.9 Obese, Class I High
35.0 39.9 Obese, Class II Very high
Obese, Class III Extremely high

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WHAT CAUSES OBESITY AND
OVERWEIGHT?

Energy imbalance
between calories
consumed and
calories expended
Increased intake of
energy-dense foods
that are high in fat
Increase in physical
inactivity.
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COMMON HEALTH CONSEQUENCES
Increased risk of numerous health problems
Type 2 diabetes
Hypertension
Certain cancers (including breast, colorectal and
pancreatic)
Cardiovascular diseases

Ughh, my heart
hurts

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PREVENTION OF OVERWEIGHT
Physical Activity
Healthy Diet
Balanced
Less fat
More Protein

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RECOMMENDED DIETARY
GUIDELINES

45-65% Carbohydrates
25-35% Fat

10-35% Protein

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 TRADITIONAL VS. HIGH PROTEIN
DIET

~60% Carbohydrates ~40% Carbohydrates

~15% Protein ~35% Protein

~25% Fat ~25% Fat

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SIMILAR STUDY
Increased dietary protein and combined high intensity aerobic and
resistance Exercise Improves Body Fat Distribution and
Cardiovascular Risk Factors

Arciero PJ, Gentile CL, Martin-Pressman R, et al.

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PATIENTS
30 middle-aged (45.9 9.4 years) overweight
individuals
Included non-smoking and with no medical
history of previous cardiovascular disease
All participant had to be inactive

Had to sustain a stable weight for at least 6

months prior to study

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STUDY DESIGN
30 patients randomized into 3 groups:
I. HP3 High Protein consisting of 3 meals per day

II. HP6 High Protein consisting of 6 meals per day

III. TD3 Traditional Protein Intake consisting of 3

meals per day

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STUDY DESIGN (CONT)
62 day nutritional intervention
Control Diet (CON) Day -4 to 0

Energy Balanced Diet (BAL) Day 1 to 29

Energy Deficit Diet (NEG) Day 29 to 57

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STUDY DESIGN (CONT)

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RESULTS

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CONCLUSION
An increase of protein intake (~35%) in diet and
meal frequency (6 times/day) results in a
decrease in abdominal body fat and an increase
in lean body muscle compared to a traditional
diet with a 15% protein intake.

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STRENGTHS
No studies have compared a high protein intake
combined with increased meal frequency versus a
traditional diet consumed per day on changes on
body composition during weight maintenance and
weight loss
Supervision of limiting physical activity during
NEG phase (75% of energy need)
Carefully monitoring the diet of all subjects
during the two 28 day phases

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STRENGTHS (CONT)
measurement of not only weight, but also body
fat and its distribution

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STRENGTHS (CONT)

DEXA scanning

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IMPROVEMENTS
Not directly including a group that consumed a
traditional diet of six meals per day

Increase sample size of male participants (n=4)

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 DISTRIBUTION OF MALES AGED 18 TO 79, BY BMI
CATEGORY AND AGE GROUP, CANADA, 2009 TO 2011
(STATCAN.GC.CA)

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DISTRIBUTION OF FEMALES AGED 18 TO 79, BY BMI
CATEGORY AND AGE GROUP, CANADA, 2009 TO 2011
(STATCAN.GC.CA)

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IMPROVEMENTS (CONT)
Menopause shows signs that correlate to the changes in body composition
and fat distribution in women
Associated with increased fat in the abdomen as well as decreased lean
body mass.
The impact of estrogen

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FUTURE DIRECTIONS
Create an additional traditional group (TD6), in
which it will consist of 6 meals per day.
Find more overweight males to participate in the
study.
Limit the age group of women from middle aged
to 18 to 39. This will help avoid women in the
menopausal state.

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SUMMARY

Protein has the highest thermic effect

Greater amounts of protein intake combine with
an increase in meal frequency will result in
abdominal body fat loss and an increase in lean
muscle mass compared to the traditional dietary
intake

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SUMMARY (CONT)
The findings highlight the importance of focusing
on nutritional intake recommendations on
macronutrient distribution and eating frequency
rather than absolute quantity of macronutrients
consumed.

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