Overweight Korean Adults Benefit from Protein Rich "Oriental" Diet - More than from Conventional Diet Program.

Americans and Europeans are by no means the only people with unhealthy weight problems. Korea, where the traditional diet is gradually replaced by an Americanized fast-food diet, faces a similar obesity epidemia. The solution, on both sides, appears to be the same: a significant increase in protein intake.

Compared to a 2006 conventional dieting regime the subjects who participated in the 12 week high protein dietary intervention described in a recent study (Joo. 2011) lost more weight (- 4.7 kg vs. -2.3 kg), had a greater reduction in waist circumference (- 6.8 cm vs. 3.3 cm) and lost more body-fat (- 4.2 kg vs. -2.0 kg). In view of the obesity related health issues it is also noteworthy, that...

... the triglyceride reduction was significantly greater (- 30.16 mg/dL, p < 0.001) in the PRO Diet group after intervention compared to the conventional group.

Unfortunately, the original study is missing the dietary guidelines the subjects were provided (the file is not on the server), so you have to content yourselves with the following short summary as to what a "PRO Diet" looks like:

The PRO Diet aims to reduce consumption of refined starches (cooked rice, noodles, white bread) and to encourage the consumption of high protein. Additionally, the PRO Diet encourages the intake of "favorable" carbohydrates with a low glycemic index (GI) and "favorable" fats with high unsaturated fatty acids, while avoiding "unfavorable" carbohydrates with high GI and "unfavorable" fats such as high saturated fatty acids or trans fats.

The old adage of "bad saturated fats" and the hilarous concept of the glycemic index aside, regular visitors of the SuppVersity will recognize these dietary recommendations - certainly no coincidence ;-)