Does meat consumption contribute to global obesity?

A team from the University of Adelaide has found that meat offers surplus energy in the modern diet and have presented their findings in BMC Nutrition. The analysis involved data from 170 countries and suggested that meat consumption has as much of an effect on the development of obesity as sugar consumption does. The study is led by PhD student Wenpeng You who has explained that fats and carbohydrates in modern diets supply enough energy for the average person. This means that meat protein, which takes longer to digest, is actually surplus. This energy is then converted to fat and stored within the body.

Previous papers that have linked meat to obesity have often blamed the fat content of meat, however this study is now suggesting otherwise. Whilst this paper does not definitively prove that meat protein causes obesity steps will be taken to further this research in order to properly understand its impact.