PANACEA study: eating meat promotes weight gain

ojimak

In a large study called PANACEA, with hundreds of thousands of men and women over multiple countries participating, people who ate meat gained the most weight, even adjusting for calories consumed.

This three-minute video by Dr. Michael Greger (a physician) explains:
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/meat-and-weight-gain-in-the-panacea-study/

The strongest weight gain was observed for poultry.

Further context is provided in this blog post:
http://nutritionfacts.org/2013/01/22/poultry-paunch-meat-weight-gain/

Topher1978

That's funny, I eat chicken nearly every day since I have been going on this weight loss/health journey. Those fattening chickens helped me lose 30 lbs so far…

vanguardfitness

Large studies are usually bogus

jenj1313

Large studies are usually bogus

What???

neanderthin

All those percentiles and quartiles and control groups, observational data gathering,epidemiological studies, food questionnaires all that concise undisputable factual stuff makes my head explode.:happy:

Topher1978

And the creator of the www is a hardcore vegan advocate, which indicates he is a full fledged quack.

ldrosophila

MMMM chicken! Is that why chicken hawks and honey badgers are so obese?
LOL maybe it's the chicken's revenge.

So a roasted chicken breast has 170 calories w/ 25 grams of fat what is this fat inducing property?

Since eggs are the opposite of chickens can they make you underweight?

tameko2

One of the commenters says the subjects were just asked to recount their caloric consumption for the study? Which people are notoriously horrible at.

Anecdote time! I eat a lot of meat. My friend eats dairy free vegetarian with frutarian leanings (She avoids grains too). She weighs a lot less than I do, but she also eats unbelievably low cal. Its pretty much all vegetables and fruit, with the vegetables maybe having some kind of fat added to them sometimes. So like, 500 cals of oil, lets say (I doubt it s anywhere near that much) and 800 calories of veggies and fruit. So yeah. She weighs less than me. But I'm pretty sure its not because I eat meat. Per se.

Topher1978

And the creator of the www is a hardcore vegan advocate, which indicates he is a full fledged quack.

And a liar.

ldrosophila

Thats it I'm not going to digest food anymore!

*Designs photsynthetic skin.

Mwahahahahah suckas!

ArtGeek22

*grabs water and relaxing to watch debate*


(P.S supporter of a plant-based diet. Personally, I minimizes animal products for the sake of getting healthier.)

tigersword

Let's see, this study relied on SELF REPORTED food intake and SELF REPORTED weigh-ins. So basically, every few years they sent out surveys to a few hundred thousand people to ask them about exactly what they've eaten the entire time, and how much they've weighed. It was done by mail, the researchers didn't even have physical contact with the subjects.

Certainly can't have any kind of real conclusions based on that. The actual researchers didn't do anything other than take what they were told. I bet if I wandered through a couple thousand public profiles on this site I could make a case for any food to cause weight gain. It's all totally correlative, and weakly correlative at best.

Plus I'm amused that this study is 3 years old, and this guy is just getting around to it now, acting like it's breaking news. Also, anytime someone talks about a study without actually linking to the study (he just kept linking back to his own video, over and over,) that person loses all credibility to me.

The actual study, if you care to read it: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/92/2/398.full

Was there a difference in weight? Yes, measured in GRAMS per YEAR. :huh: So if you ate 100 extra calories a day in meat, you would weigh 14 grams more than a person who didn't eat those 100 calories a day of meat after a year. Um, ok. For the Americans, 14 grams is about half an ounce.

Yes, EVERYBODY PANIC, you might gain 1 pound in 32 years by eating an extra 100 calories of meat a day... :noway:

neanderthin

In a large study called PANACEA, with hundreds of thousands of men and women over multiple countries participating, people who ate meat gained the most weight, even adjusting for calories consumed.

This three-minute video by Dr. Michael Greger (a physician) explains:
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/meat-and-weight-gain-in-the-panacea-study/

The strongest weight gain was observed for poultry.

Further context is provided in this blog post:
http://nutritionfacts.org/2013/01/22/poultry-paunch-meat-weight-gain/

I can't believe they use that study to support a vegan diet, it is about as useless as it can get. I wouldn't be able to keep a straight face looking upon the audience regardless of how gullible they are, now I feel like I have to wash my hands. lol

Graelwyn75

Bet they didn't bother to measure body fat vs lean mass in the participants though.

neanderthin

Bet they didn't bother to measure body fat vs lean mass in the participants though.

Hard to do that through the mail, once every 5 years. I can't remember what I ate last Tuesday let alone March 18 etc.

AnvilHead

Another worthless, ridiculous "study" propagated by somebody with an agenda.

ninerbuff

Lol a "study" that relies on questionaires and not actual mean measurements and the OP concludes that meat is the issue for promoting weight gain?

So let's see here, we (the human race) have been eating meat since.......................well human origin. Native Americans ate buffalo. Farmers raised chickens and pigs. I could go on and on. But when did obesity start? When we started eating meat? Hahahahaha, what a ****ty way to try to demonize carnivores.

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Sarauk2sf

Let's see, this study relied on SELF REPORTED food intake and SELF REPORTED weigh-ins. So basically, every few years they sent out surveys to a few hundred thousand people to ask them about exactly what they've eaten the entire time, and how much they've weighed. It was done by mail, the researchers didn't even have physical contact with the subjects.

Certainly can't have any kind of real conclusions based on that. The actual researchers didn't do anything other than take what they were told. I bet if I wandered through a couple thousand public profiles on this site I could make a case for any food to cause weight gain. It's all totally correlative, and weakly correlative at best.

Plus I'm amused that this study is 3 years old, and this guy is just getting around to it now, acting like it's breaking news. Also, anytime someone talks about a study without actually linking to the study (he just kept linking back to his own video, over and over,) that person loses all credibility to me.

The actual study, if you care to read it: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/92/2/398.full

Was there a difference in weight? Yes, measured in GRAMS per YEAR. :huh: So if you ate 100 extra calories a day in meat, you would weigh 14 grams more than a person who didn't eat those 100 calories a day of meat after a year. Um, ok. For the Americans, 14 grams is about half an ounce.

Yes, EVERYBODY PANIC, you might gain 1 pound in 32 years by eating an extra 100 calories of meat a day... :noway:

^^and this is why people should due some due diligence before they believe an article posted on some person, with an agenda's, website.

victoriavoodoo

Lets do a "study" where one group eats baked and grilled chicken, and the other eats deep fried and processed "nugget" chicken and see if chicken is the problem.

eta: for the record I do not eat meat but of all the things to blame weight gain on I think this is a dumb one. What I would be willing to believe is that people who make fried or sugary-barbeque-sauced meat and dino chicken nuggets a staple of their diet gain more weight than people who prepare it healthily, just like broccoli vs broccoli smothered in cheese.

Hbazzell

Large studies are usually bogus

What??

Hbazzell

I don't eat meat for moral reason but this "study" is obviously full of shizer.

animemoon5

Has to be an issue of cause and correlation.... When you think of the most unhealthiest and fattening foods, you think of super greasy double cheeseburgers, fried donuts and double fudge cakes.... None of these are "Vegan" even the donuts, cookies and cakes are made from eggs..... Vegan food is pretty limited, and there are very few choices available when going out to eat...... Vegans usually have to stick to salads, cook from home, and spend quite a bit of time at the health food store..... I wouldn't say "Meat" is what causes the difference in weight gain, a lot has to do with simply ease of access.... A vegetarian has higher chances of gaining weight than a vegan, because now they have the option of cheese fries and brownies, as well as the other foods, and a meat eater has a higher chances because now they can throw in the triple cheeseburgers.. in addition to everything else.

People with junk food diets, (Meat eaters or vegetarian) usually don't go for vegetables or whole grains, the more refined and plain the better...... It's the difference between white bread vs. sprouted 7 grain bread.... junk food eaters look at the latter see the grains and seeds and think "Yuck" From what I've witnessed, vegans who's diets require such things, tend to tolerate this stuff much better... It's nothing new odd or strange to them, they don't freak out at the texture or the "Health" look of it....

Meat in itself is definitely not the issue...... One thing is certain, and that is protein keeps you full longer, and meat has plenty of it.... A meat eater, who chooses poultry or fish over 80/20 beef , switches to whole grains, unprocessed foods and adds in their veggies can have an entirely healthy diet........ lose weight, and keep it off if they stick to it....

I also would like to add, meat is expensive, and during the times when the budget is tight, if I skip out on the meat for a day, my calories skyrocket.... I start trying to fill up on "Cheap carbs" which never satisfy me..... and I end up gaining weight.... as I've begun counting calories, I've learned if I spend a bit extra on the good lean meats, and have that at every meal, especially in the morning, I stay full throughout the day and rarely feel the need to snack.... as a result I lose more weight.....

SMiller074

Um.. Like I'm going to trust any study that has been named PANACEA.
That's just not very scientific.

neanderthin

Large studies are usually bogus

What??

Their limited. Studies like this are called Epidemiological studies basically observational using data that is fairly general over long periods of time, and never, ever 100% accurate. Without controlled experiments there can never be a relationship beween cause and effect, just can't happen. That leaves us correlations, which by their nature are easily manipulated in these types of studies to confirm or reaffirm an hypothesis. This one being that chicken specifically was the cause of weight gain. In their opening statement they hypothesized that meat and it fat content could contribute to weight gain. Chicken consumption was compared to all other meats including all red meat and processed meat and for some reason chicken beat them out calories wise, obviously, well not really. Red meat consumption is at an all time low world wide, and processed meats statistically are not consumed as much. Poultry on the other hand has risen worldwide over the last 20 years as the go to meat protein because of it's lower calorie content and it's supposedly better choice to consuming red meat.......basically everyone is eating chicken. Chicken is the squeaky wheel in the food questionnaire, it's everywhere in all Countries and in more meals than red or processed. Basically without thinking the correlation would be meat contributes to weight gain and chicken is eaten the most often, therefore chicken contributes to weight gain and not red meat or processed meats, right, that makes sense.

One of my favorite quote of JFK

“For the greatest enemy of truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Too often we hold fast to the clichés of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”

Firefox7275

Eat more oily fish and seafood rich sources of bioavailable vitamins D and B12, DHA and EPA, or vegan wholefoods which are not.

neandermagnon

I went through a phase of eating only vegan food once. I got fat. Probably because I ate way, way too much lentil curry.

Yes meat helps you to gain weight, you lift heavy weights, eat meat, and your muscles grow. Personally I think that's a good thing.

ETA: that's not to say you have to eat meat to gain muscle, there are other sources of protein (before anyone takes the above the wrong way)

ahamm002

Yes, EVERYBODY PANIC, you might gain 1 pound in 32 years by eating an extra 100 calories of meat a day... :noway:

LOL, thank you for taking the time to look up the quack's ridiculous study. It looks like Dr. Michael Greger is about as dishonest as they come.

FredDoyle

Surprise, surprise. Lying for their (vegan) religion.

tigersword

Has to be an issue of cause and correlation.... When you think of the most unhealthiest and fattening foods, you think of super greasy double cheeseburgers, fried donuts and double fudge cakes.... None of these are "Vegan" even the donuts, cookies and cakes are made from eggs..... Vegan food is pretty limited, and there are very few choices available when going out to eat...... Vegans usually have to stick to salads, cook from home, and spend quite a bit of time at the health food store..... I wouldn't say "Meat" is what causes the difference in weight gain, a lot has to do with simply ease of access.... A vegetarian has higher chances of gaining weight than a vegan, because now they have the option of cheese fries and brownies, as well as the other foods, and a meat eater has a higher chances because now they can throw in the triple cheeseburgers.. in addition to everything else.

People with junk food diets, (Meat eaters or vegetarian) usually don't go for vegetables or whole grains, the more refined and plain the better...... It's the difference between white bread vs. sprouted 7 grain bread.... junk food eaters look at the latter see the grains and seeds and think "Yuck" From what I've witnessed, vegans who's diets require such things, tend to tolerate this stuff much better... It's nothing new odd or strange to them, they don't freak out at the texture or the "Health" look of it....

Meat in itself is definitely not the issue...... One thing is certain, and that is protein keeps you full longer, and meat has plenty of it.... A meat eater, who chooses poultry or fish over 80/20 beef , switches to whole grains, unprocessed foods and adds in their veggies can have an entirely healthy diet........ lose weight, and keep it off if they stick to it....

I also would like to add, meat is expensive, and during the times when the budget is tight, if I skip out on the meat for a day, my calories skyrocket.... I start trying to fill up on "Cheap carbs" which never satisfy me..... and I end up gaining weight.... as I've begun counting calories, I've learned if I spend a bit extra on the good lean meats, and have that at every meal, especially in the morning, I stay full throughout the day and rarely feel the need to snack.... as a result I lose more weight.....

Oreos, potato chips, and French fries are all vegan. As are most breads (no eggs usually, flour, salt, water, yeast is all you need.) plenty of higher calorie vegan foods. If you think you have to stick to salads to eat vegan, you just aren't familiar enough with food.

jennaworksout

Yes, EVERYBODY PANIC, you might gain 1 pound in 32 years by eating an extra 100 calories of meat a day... :noway:

LOL, thank you for taking the time to look up the quack's ridiculous study. It looks like Dr. Michael Greger is about as dishonest as they come.

yep^^^^ this......