Older women should think about boosting their protein intake

A new study from the University of Illinois claims to show that older women who want to lose body fat should be going on diets which have a high level of protein. Their research shows that those women who went on a high protein weight loss diet not only lost more fat but they also gained more muscle when compared to those women who went on a weight loss diets with a higher level of carbohydrates.

This is an interesting study because it shows that going on a diet is not just about losing weight but more importantly losing the right sort of weight. It is no good losing 20lb. if a lot of that is muscle because muscle is not only important for strength and mobility but also burns calories in itself.

Older women should think about boosting their protein intake as they age because it will help them with simple tasks like going shopping and generally getting around.

For the trial which took place over six months 31 overweight women with an average age of 65 were assigned to diets of 1,400 calories daily. Half of the women were given whey protein supplements of 25 grams to be taken twice daily and the other half were given a supplement of 25 grams of carbohydrate to be taken twice daily.

For the high protein group this meant that the diet had 30 percent protein, 40 per cent carbohydrate and 30 percent fat. For the high carbohydrate group this meant that their diet consisted of 18 percent protein, 52 percent carbohydrate and 30 percent fat. All of the women were required to attend two or three exercise sessions weekly.

The results which were published in the Journal of Gerontology showed that the women who consumed the high protein diet on average lost 4 percent more body weight but more importantly 11 percent more body fat than those women who followed the higher carbohydrate diet.

The women on the higher protein diet also gained stronger thigh muscles which meant that they did better on test for physical mobility. It is well known that high protein diets can be effective in reducing hunger so they can be an effective tool in helping you to lose weight.

If you are starting to lose weight upping your protein content can really help you. In the long term for good health and weight maintenance however it is important to have a balanced and healthy diet which consists of loss of fresh produce as well as both protein and carbohydrate.