Ummm, I'm fairly certain that Americans get much more protein than they actually need. I could bring up a bunch of studies, but I'm lazy at the moment. Also, and you're saying that the skinny part of the population is skinny because they don't eat protein?? Eating protein doesn't magically build muscle mass, they're skinny because they don't lift. Americans get plenty of protein, but the sources that most of them get it from are questionable. Fried anything, red meats, etc. How many people eat plain grilled chicken breasts for meals? I bet you 10 times as many eat fried chicken tenders or chicken wings instead, which also leads to obesity.
These skinny people are overly skinny, any adult male should be able to stagnantly bench over 125 pounds with a decent protein rich diet. Also, you don't really need a study to tell you how much protein they get. Just looking around at what uninformed people eat is enough.
Its not like I'm saying they need to eat more fried chicken, they just need to eat more protein. A piece of fried chicken has more fat than protein, and the sides that generally come with it make the carbs greater than the protein, too. If protein (and it can) displaces bad carbs and fat in the diet, a high protein diet will always be better than a low protein one. When I was at work the place was loaded with fatasses. I made a few simple ass rules for them to follow and they all lost a few pounds, without exercising.
- Only drink water, no juice, no milk, no soda.. you'd be surprised how many people said, "NO JUICE???" "Its from fruit!!"
- Read the nutrition label on everything you eat, if it has more fat than protein, don't eat it, ever.
- When you eat chicken, don't eat the skin (everyone ate chicken at like 8 times a week)
- No bread with breakfast (which meant they had to choose something from the diner that wasn't a sandwich); everyone ate a few eggs and a few slices of bacon. (lol)