(Annie Lennox/ Medical News Today) — Obesity is linked to some of the leading causes of preventable, premature death, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. Between 1999 and 2020, population obesity rates in the United States increased from 30.5% to 41.9%.
First proposed in 2005, the protein leverage hypothesis (PLH) is a theory for the cause of obesity. It states that if the body’s needs for protein consumption are unmet, fat and carbohydrate consumption increases, dampening satiety signals and increasing food intake.
Studies have shown that as the percentage of energy from protein has decreased in American diets, obesity rates have risen.
Another study found that inpatient adults exposed to ultra-processed diets ingested more carbohydrates, fat, and total energy than those on unprocessed diets and consequently gained weight. (…)