Texas Tech Study Finds No Link Between Beef Consumption and Obesity
A new peer-reviewed study funded by the Beef Checkoff and the Texas Beef Council offers promising news for beef lovers: there is no significant link between beef consumption and obesity. The research, conducted by scientists at Texas Tech University, aimed to evaluate the full scope of scientific literature available on this often-debated topic.
Shalene McNeill, a registered dietitian and Executive Director of Nutrition, Science, Health and Wellness for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, shared the findings:
“This is one of the most rigorous studies that has ever been conducted to look at the total body of research on the association between red meat intake and obesity.
So we often see individual studies reported and mixed results, but in this case we took the total body of literature that was out there and the researchers did a rigorous analysis to let us know where does the science net out on this topic.”
The study reviewed 19 scientific studies to understand how red meat like beef affects body weight, and the results challenge long-standing misconceptions:
“This research included 19 studies that exist out in the scientific literature and it’s really important because what it showed is that red meats like beef have no effect on obesity.
Now that doesn’t mean that if you include beef in a healthy diet and you try to hit those protein targets that you won’t have positive solutions with obesity, but what this research was really about is if all things stayed the same and you just include beef in your diet or red meats in your diet, that’s not going to have an effect on your obesity rates.”
McNeill emphasized the importance of this finding in shifting consumer perception:
“That’s really important because when we look at what consumers think about we know that some consumers still have this belief that beef contributes to obesity and this research really helps set the record straight on that.”
This landmark study adds to a growing body of evidence supporting lean beef as part of a healthy, balanced diet.