Study: Meat Eaters Gain More Pounds

(CANVAS STAFF REPORTS) - A European study has found that people who eat meat tend to gain more weight over time, reported AOL News .

The study was completed at Imperial College in London, where researchers tracked 370,000 European adults' eating habits over five years.

People who ate the most meat gained more weight. Those who ate an additional 8.8 ounces of meat could expect to gain 4.4 pounds over the course of five years.

Men and women from the study who were from Germany, Spain, and Sweden tended to eat the most meat, Sydney Morning Herald reported. Men ate 300 calories worth of meat daily, while the women consumed 200 calories daily.

Greeks consumed the least amount of meat. Men ate 200 calories and women ate 140 calories worth on average.

The researchers, led by Dr. Anne-Claire Vergnaud, concluded that the meat associated with the most weight gain was not red meat but poultry followed by processed meats.

According to AOL News , the team also took into consideration education, smoking habits, and physical activity.

One explanation for the finding is that meat is dense in calories while a vegetarian diet is lower in energy. A meat eater who ate the same amount of calories as a vegetarian would gain more weight because of the meat in their diet.

The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition , said, " More importantly, our results do not support that a high-protein diet prevents obesity or promotes long-term weight loss, contrary to what has been advocated."

It's not encouraging news for low carbohydrate and high protein dieters who have lost weight by following that regimen.