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The need to standardize ad libitum eating protocols in dietary fibre appetite research

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 71, pages 570–572 (2017)Cite this article

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Since more than 1.9 billion adults worldwide are overweight, of which 600 million are obese,1 it is of vital importance to identify treatment strategies to help overweight and obese patients to lose weight and to improve long-term health. From a nutrition perspective, research has focussed on increasing the satiating power of the diet so that individuals feel full with fewer calories.2 A potentially effective class of functional foods, modulating appetite and food intake in such ways, is dietary fibre.3 However, although emerging evidence highlights the positive effects of dietary fibre on appetite and body weight, the methodological approaches are not always consistent and give rise to many uncertainties. It is therefore important to implement standardized experimental protocols to study the effect of fibre on appetite and ad libitum eating based on current knowledge of the mechanisms that control these processes. The aim of this perspective article is to highlight some methodological shortcomings which should be addressed when appetite is evaluated in dietary fibre research.

Evidence from epidemiological studies show associations between high fibre intakes and weight loss.4, 5, 6 Although one problem with epidemiological approaches is that fibre covaries with other nutrients that have an impact on energy homoeostasis (that is, diets low in fibre are typically high in fat or protein), there is evidence to suggest that increased fibre consumption not only reduces energy density of ingested food but exerts a direct inhibitory effect on eating.7 Stomach distention, colonic fermentation and changes in gastrointestinal hormone secretion are the possible mechanisms of action.8 However, despite the clear associations between fibre intake and weight loss, available data on the acute effect of fibre on appetite and food intake are often inconclusive.9, 10, 11 As a result the European Food Safety Authority highlights that a direct cause and effect relationship has not yet been established between the consumption of dietary fibre and a sustained increase in satiety leading to a reduction in energy intake.12 Besides inadequate characterization of fibre chemistry, fibre source, matrix and dose of fibre administered in acute studies, poor standardization of the test meal paradigms is an important cause of the inconsistent results.

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Acknowledgements

SZ is grateful for the financial support received from Queen Margaret University’s PhD Bursary and for advice and encouragement from Dr Laura Wyness.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dietetics, Nutrition and Biological Sciences, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, UK

    S M M Zaremba & S Drummond

  2. DSM Nutritional Products Ltd. R&D Human Nutrition and Health, Basel, Switzerland

    R E Steinert

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Correspondence to S M M Zaremba.

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Zaremba, S., Drummond, S. & Steinert, R. The need to standardize ad libitum eating protocols in dietary fibre appetite research. Eur J Clin Nutr 71, 570–572 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2016.253

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