High intake of animal protein may raise diabetes risk

[DCUK NewsBot]

A new study suggests that the risk of developing type 2 diabetes may be higher for people who eat a lot of protein, especially protein from animal sources. The finding comes from a new report by researchers at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. The team analysed a large previous study of European adults, which collected data on participants' diet, physical activity levels, height, weight and waist circumference, and then followed them to see who developed diabetes. Average protein intake among the participants was roughly 90 grams per day. After adjusting for other common diabetes risk factors, the investigators found that individuals who ate more had a higher weight-to-height ratio and were at greater risk for type 2 diabetes, with the risk rising by 6% for every additional 10 grams of protein consumed each day. People who ate the most amount of protein (around 111 grams per day) were 17% more likely to become diabetic than those who ate the least (around 72 grams per day), and the risk rose to 22% for those who ate the most animal protein (78 grams per day) compared to people with the lowest intake of animal protein (around 36 grams per day). The findings, published in the journal Diabetes Care, also showed that people who ate the most protein got about 15% of their calories from red meat, processed meat, poultry, fish and dairy. Red and processed meats, in particular, have been consistently linked with increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Additionally, consumption of plant-based protein was not associated with higher diabetes risk. Dr. Frank Hu, from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, who was not involved in the new study, commented that replacing red meat and processed meat with plant sources of protein can help prevent type 2 diabetes such as nuts, legumes, whole grains and other plant sources have been linked to lower diabetes risk in previous studies.

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[LittleGreyCat]

But was each piece of animal protein, crumbed, deep fried, then wrapped in bread with a side of fries?

"the investigators found that individuals who ate more {assume protein missed out} had a higher weight-to-height ratio and were at greater risk for type 2 diabetes"

and

"people who ate the most protein got about 15% of their calories from red meat, processed meat, poultry, fish and dairy"

So the abstract above doesn't really give any useful information.

People who eat a LOT tend to get 15% of their calories from animal protein.

The details are totally inconsistent.
Risk rises with the amount of protein quoted in grams per day.
However these figures are not tied to percentages.
If the percentage of protein in the diet is more or less constant, all they are saying is that people who eat more calories tend to put on more weight which increases diabetes risk.
No sh*t, Sherlock!
Might have seen similar research before.

Given that there is a contingent on this forum who must obtain at least 15% of their calories from red meat, processed meat, poultry, fish and dairy and who are maintaining or reducing weight this seems to be a strange research outcome.

Given that the NHS Diet Plate shows considerably more that the 15% protein quoted above there must be loads of healthy clean living people who fit into the 15% or more of animal proteins.

If the report had said that it had established that people on equivalent calorie diets showed a distinct difference in development of T2D directly related to the percentage of animal protein they ate, then this would have been an interesting result.
However I cannot find those words or their equivalent in the abstract.

I also note that the standard of written English (or even American) is little short of appalling.

Cheers

LGC

 

[Spiker]

The study was quoted in another thread. The full text confirms your fears - it basically proves nothing more than that people who eat a lot tend to be big and tend to be the ones who get T2D.

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