Skip to main content

REVIEW article

Front. Endocrinol.
Sec. Gut Endocrinology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1412182
This article is part of the Research Topic What's New in Endocrinology? (Vol II) View all 6 articles

Impacts of dietary animal and plant protein on weight and glycemic control in health, obesity and type 2 diabetes: friend or foe?

Provisionally accepted
Javad Anjom-Shoae Javad Anjom-Shoae 1*Christine Feinle-Bisset Christine Feinle-Bisset 1Michael Horowitz Michael Horowitz 1,2
  • 1 Centre of Research Excellence in Translating Nutritional Science to Good Health, Adelaide Medical School, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
  • 2 Endocrine and Metabolic Unit, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    It is well established that high-protein diets (i.e. ~25-30% of energy intake from protein) provide benefits for achieving weight loss, and subsequent weight maintenance, in individuals with obesity, and improve glycemic control in type 2 diabetes (T2D). These effects may be attributable to the superior satiating property of protein, at least in part, through stimulation of both gastrointestinal (GI) mechanisms by protein, involving GI hormone release and slowing of gastric emptying, as well as post-absorptive mechanisms facilitated by circulating amino acids. In contrast, there is evidence that the beneficial effects of greater protein intake on body weight and glycemia may only be sustained for 6-12 months. While both suboptimal dietary compliance and metabolic adaptation, as well as substantial limitations in the design of longerterm studies are all likely to contribute to this contradiction, the source of dietary protein (i.e. animal vs. plant) has received inappropriately little attention. This issue has been highlighted by outcomes of recent epidemiological studies indicating that long-term consumption of animal-based protein may have adverse effects in relation to the development of obesity and T2D, while plant-based protein showed either protective or neutral effects. This review examines information relating to the effects of dietary protein on appetite, energy intake and postprandial glycemia, and the relevant GI functions, as reported in acute, intermediate-and long-term studies in humans. We also evaluate knowledge relating to the relevance of the dietary protein source, specifically animal or plant, to the prevention, and management, of obesity and T2D.

    Keywords: Animal protein, Appetite, food intake, gastrointestinal function, glycemic control, Obesity, Plant protein, type 2 diabetes

    Received: 04 Apr 2024; Accepted: 17 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Anjom-Shoae, Feinle-Bisset and Horowitz. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Javad Anjom-Shoae, Centre of Research Excellence in Translating Nutritional Science to Good Health, Adelaide Medical School, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, 5005, South Australia, Australia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.