Protein Restriction (PR) for Weight Loss

Prolonged dietary protein restriction has been shown to increase energy expenditure in mice simultaneously with an increase in plasma FGF21 levels. In overfeeding studies, a protein-restricted diet reduces weight gain in both mice and humans compared with normal and high-protein diets. Further, in energy balance studies, when lean men are provided with a protein-restricted diet for five weeks, an increase in energy intake was necessary to obtain their body weight. However, whether the effect of a protein-restricted diet is the same when consumed by overweight to obese men has divergent results in both mice and humans.