Meat as bad as sugar
Meat is as much to blame for excess weight as sugar
Sensational research that analysed data from 170 countries resulted in an important finding in two papers. After adjusting for factors such as people’s activity levels, income, lifestyle and calorie consumption, meat intake was directly and significantly linked to excess weight. In fact, meat turned out to be as bad as sugar and these two food groups together explain almost all the variation in people’s body weights.
The papers describe in detail why and how meat is linked to obesity. If we eat more than enough food, the fats and carbohydrates are digested first and supply all the energy we require. Meat protein is digested later and the body only needs to use a small proportion of it so most of the energy it provides is surplus to requirements and is converted to fat which is then stored in your body.
The authors concluded that public health strategies should be put in place to reduce people’s meat consumption.
You and Henneberg, 2016. Meat consumption providing a surplus energy in modern diet contributes to obesity prevalence: an ecological analysis. BMC Nutrition. 2 (1)
You and Henneberg, 2016. Meat in modern diet, just as bad as sugar, correlates with worldwide obesity: An ecological analysis. Journal of Nutrition & Food Sciences. 6 (4) 517.
About the author
Dr. Justine Butler
Justine joined Viva! in 2005 after graduating from Bristol University with a PhD in molecular biology. After working as a campaigner, then researcher and writer, she is now Viva!’s head of research and her work focuses on animals, the environment and health. Justine’s scientific training helps her research and write both in-depth scientific reports, such as White Lies and the Meat Report, as well as easy-to-read factsheets and myth-busting articles for consumer magazines and updates on the latest research. Justine also recently wrote the Vegan for the Planet guide for Viva!’s Vegan Now campaign.
View author page | View staff profile
