Women Who Follow High Protein Diet Report Greater Weight Loss

A new study has found that women who eat more protein report a greater weight loss than women who stick to other kinds of diets.

For the study, researchers from Northwestern Health Sciences University in Bloomington looked at data from more than 1,800 women who were enrolled in a national survey. Over half of all women in the sample were postmenopausal.

Researchers assessed the link between women wanting to eat more protein as a weight loss strategy and their achievements in losing weight.

Researchers found that most women who followed the eat-more-protein route to lose weight were good at identifying food sources rich in protein and including it in their diet.

More than 40 percent of women in this group said that they ate more protein so that they could prevent weight gain. Researchers found that over two years' time, this group lost more weight than their peers.

Previous research has shown that increase in protein intake with a constant carbohydrate intake led to significant weight loss.  

"Reported use of this practice was related to self-reported weight loss over two years. Women may need more information regarding protein energy content and effective selection of protein sources to enhance protein intake as a weight management strategy," the authors wrote, according to HealthDay.

The study is published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.