When it comes to packing on body fat, the volume of calories you ingest seems to count more than whether those calories come from lots of protein or very little.  Researchers found that people who ate high-calorie diets all gained about the same amount of fat. Those whose diets were low in protein gained less weight overall than people on high- and moderate-protein diets, but that's because the low-protein group also lost muscle. "Huge swings in protein intake do not result in huge swings in body fat gain," said Dr. James Levine, who studies obesity at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., but wasn't involved in the new study. "It really is the calories that count." Additional coverage: Chicago Tribune,

Reuters, by Genevra Pittman, 1/3/2012

Tags: Endocrinology / Diabetes, Mayo Clinic Rochester