Cutting down on meat could help you lose weight - NHS Choices ...

"Eat less meat to lose weight," the Daily Express has reported. The news is based on a Europe-wide study of more than 370,000 people, which discovered that over five years heavy meat eaters gained approximately two kilograms more than those who rarely ate meat. Extra weight gain was particularly prevalent in those who ate processed meats such as bacon, ham and sausages. On the one hand, because of its high energy density and fat content, meat consumption is thought to lead to weight gain. The researchers say that several existing observational studies already show that increased meat consumption leads to weight gain. However, there is continuing uncertainty about whether the link is fully attributable to meat intake itself, and so there is a need to explore the issue with further research. The researchers wanted to assess the associations between weight gain and the consumption of red meat, poultry, processed meat and total meat consumption. The size of the study allowed the researchers to look specifically at the types of meat eaten, and the research may be the most reliable yet to examine these links. The methods of data analysis used (multivariate analysis) were appropriate, as they took into account factors other than meat consumption that could influence weight gain. The researchers looked primarily at the associations between energy from meat (kcal per day) and annual weight change (grams per year). Greater levels of meat consumption were associated with greater weight gain in men and women, in normal-weight and overweight subjects, and in smokers and non-smokers. With adjustment for estimated energy intake, an increase in meat intake of 250g per day (about one steak) would lead to an additional 2kg of weight gain after five years (95% confidence interval 1.5-2.7kg). There were interesting differences between countries, with highest averages of daily meat intake in the cohorts from Denmark, Germany, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands (over 316 kcal from meat per day in men, 207 kcal in women). The lowest daily meat intakes were in Greece (193 kcal in men, 142 kcal in women) and in the Oxford 'health-conscious' cohort, which included mostly vegetarian subjects (86 and 82 kcal per day). The researchers simply say that their results suggest that a "decrease in meat consumption may improve weight management". This very large study was well conducted and may provide the best data so far looking at how meat eating relates to weight gain.