Testing the protein leverage hypothesis in humans

该提案旨在测试人类的蛋白质杠杆假说（PLH）：即人类的食物消费水平与其他动物一样，可以调整以维持目标蛋白质摄入量。随着超重和肥胖的流行率增加，以及随之而来的健康问题，必须确定哪些饮食成分限制而不是加剧能量摄入。根据PLH，许多西方国家典型的低蛋白质和高脂肪和碳水化合物的饮食消费，不可避免地需要摄入额外的能量来保持蛋白质摄入量恒定，从而推动体重增加。相反，蛋白质含量相对较高的饮食消费需要摄入较低水平的能量，从而产生减肥的潜力。初步的实验和人口水平的营养调查数据支持PLH，因为蛋白质比其他常量营养素更有饱腹感。如果如预测的那样，发现当前研究中描述的饮食中蛋白质比例的微小变化会影响总能量摄入，那么体重控制策略将产生重大影响。因此，如果PLH得到证实，公共卫生饮食建议和政府对食品工业的政策设置将需要改变。还需要进行大规模的干预研究，以证明对体重的长期影响。

This proposal is designed to test the protein leverage hypothesis (PLH) in humans: the idea that the level of food consumption in humans, like other animals, is adjusted to maintain a target protein intake. As the prevalence of overweight and obesity increases, with its attendant health problems, the need to identify which dietary components limit rather than exacerbate energy intake is imperative. According to the PLH, the consumption of a diet low in % protein and high in % fat and carbohydrate, typical of many Western countries, inevitably requires the ingestion of additional energy to maintain protein intake constant, thus driving weight gain. Conversely, the consumption of a diet that is relatively high in % protein requires the ingestion of lower levels of energy, creating the potential for weight loss. Preliminary experimental and population-level nutritional survey data support the PLH, as does the finding that protein is more satiating than other macronutrients. If, as predicted, small changes in the proportion of protein in diets described in the current study are found to impact on total energy intake there will be significant implications for weight control strategies. Thus, if the PLH is confirmed, public health dietary recommendations and government policy settings for the food industry will need to change. Large-scale intervention studies aimed at demonstrating the longer term impact on body weight will also be required.