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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n” data-action=subscribe> We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact customerservice@slackinc.com.<\/strong> <\/p>\nBack to Healio<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nKey takeaways:<\/h2>\n\nRecent dietary guidelines emphasize greater protein intake while providing mixed messaging.<\/li>\n A speaker said to avoid overeating protein and to recommend diets supported by outcome data.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nSAN DIEGO \u2014 Developments in nutrition methodologies have led to contention about certain dietary approaches, according to the keynote speaker at the Obesity Medicine Association\u2019s annual conference.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn some ways, we are living in the best of times, as we have witnessed unprecedented break-throughs in obesity medicine\u201d via developments in GLP-1 receptor agonists and disease prediction tools, Frank Hu, MD, PhD,<\/b> Fredrick J. Stare Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said.<\/p>\n\n\nRecent dietary guidelines emphasize greater protein intake while providing mixed messaging. Image: Adobe Stock<\/em>But \u201cin other ways, we are in the worst of times as we are facing global metabolic crisis, skyrocketing obesity rates, accelerating climate change, food insecurity, misinformation and paralyzing confusion about nutrition,\u201d Hu said.<\/p>\n
According to Hu, obesity medicine relied on the energy balance model for decades, which calls for eating less and moving more.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, this paradigm ignored the role of hormonal regulation, food quality and metabolic adaption,\u201d he said. \u201cAs we all know, most patients on a low-calorie diet regain their weight within a few months. That\u2019s because of metabolic adaptions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, major guidance like the 2025 to 2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) recommends an intake of between 1.2 g to 1.6 g of high-quality protein per kg of body weight daily.<\/p>\n
Hu said this has led to a \u201chuge debate\u201d about protein\u2019s role in a healthy diet.<\/p>\n
Specifically, some maintain that high-protein diets can preserve muscle mass and improve metabolic rate, \u201cbut others have cautioned that too much protein, especially animal protein, can promote tumor growth and accelerate biological aging,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hu pointed out that the protein dispute is one of several issues with the latest edition of the DGAs.<\/p>\n
Another includes its mixed messaging, which \u201chas led to a lot of confusion in the general public,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
For example, while the new DGAs retain the recommendation of consuming less than 10% of saturated fat daily, they highlight full-fat dairy, red meat, butter and tallow in their visuals, \u201cespecially the upside-down pyramid,\u201d Hu said.<\/p>\n
There is also no mention of lactose intolerance, which Hu said \u201cis pretty common in the general population,\u201d or about \u201cthe environmental and socioeconomical impact of food consumption.\u201d<\/p>\n
He highlighted several dietary recommendations for health care professionals amid this confusion, including that clinicians should continue to emphasize dietary patterns, like the Mediterranean diet, Alternative Healthy Eating Index and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension-style diet, that are supported by outcome data.<\/p>\n
He also recommended replacing saturated fats with unsaturated plant oils, although \u201cthat doesn\u2019t mean that you should completely avoid unsaturated fats \u2014 the main thing is that unsaturated fats are kept at certain levels in your diet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAvoid overemphasizing protein. It\u2019s an important nutrient, of course, but it\u2019s not a free pass,\u201d Hu said. \u201cIf you consume too much protein, it will turn into fat eventually, and it has a huge burden on your activities.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that clinicians should also:<\/p>\n
\nindividualize patients\u2019 protein intakes by physical activity, age, sex and health statuses;<\/li>\n provide culturally adaptable and feasible guidance; and<\/li>\n clarify inconsistencies between numeric targets and visual messaging.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\u201cIf you don\u2019t like graphics of the [DGA] pyramid, you can use the Mediterranean diet pyramid, which is more actionable, tangible and evidence based,\u201d Hu said.<\/p>\n
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Sources\/Disclosures<\/h3>\n Source: <\/h2>\n Hu F. The nutrition revolution: Understanding food, science, and obesity in a new era. Presented at: Obesity Medicine 2026. April 10-12, 2026; San Diego.<\/p>\n
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