Sorry Carnivores, This Study Says Vegetables Fill You Up More Than Meat

The virtues of a vegetarian diet are forever being extolled, from saving the planet to having arteries that aren't clogged with bacon fat.

And now, there could be yet another reason to settle the beef and fly the green V flag: science says eating vegetables make us feel fuller for longer than meat.

New research from the University of Copenhagen has found that when people consume protein-rich vegetables like beans and peas, they are likely to eat less later on than those who eat meals with similar protein content, but made up of meat.

In the study, which was published in the Food & Nutrition journal last week, participants were given three different patties. One consisted mainly of pork, one of beans, and one of peas or veal. The findings showed that those who ate the patties consisting mainly of peas or beans consumed 12 percent fewer calories at their next meal than the participants who had eaten a meat-based patty.

Professor Anne Raben, lead author of the study and obesity researcher, said in a press release that the advantage veggies have over meat when it comes to feeling full is probably down to fibre.

Raben said: "The protein-rich meal composed of legumes contained significantly more fibre than the protein-rich meal of pork and veal, which probably contributed to the increased feeling of satiety."

Bean burgers may have once been the preserve of sandal-wearing hippies but this year saw plant-based eating go mainstream. McDonald's launched its first veggie pea, bean, and potato-based burger in Singapore and Silicon Valley startup Impossible Foods debuted the plant-based "burger that bleeds" in the MUNCHIES Test Kitchen.

Raben added that the Copenhagen study is another step towards reversing belief that vegetables are less filling than meat.

She said: "It is somewhat contrary to the widespread belief that one ought to consume a large amount of protein because it increases satiety more. Now, something suggests that one can eat a fibre-rich meal, with less protein, and achieve the same sensation of fullness."

So, we should be having our bean burgers and eating them too.