Comparing satiety profiles of different foods: The example of meal replacement drinks

Abstract

Substantiation of satiety-related claims is increasingly relevant for many commercial foods, such as meal replacements for weight control. To compare meal replacements (Slim·Fast, SF) to alternatives, 24 subjects (18–60 y, BMI 26±2 kg/m2) consumed four equal-weight (330 g) meals on separate days in a balanced-crossover design: (a) SF Optima® drink (190 kcal); (b) Yoghurt (190 kcal); (c) Bagel w/low-fat cream cheese+orange juice (400 kcal); (d) Hamburger w/bun+soft drink (400 kcal). Post-meal ‘hunger’, ‘fullness’, ‘desire for meal’, and ‘desire for snack’ measured over 5 h generated data for area under the curve (AUC), time to return to pre-meal rating (TIME, by curve-fitting), and TIME/kcal. Hunger scores showed no differences in AUC, but significantly longer TIME for SF vs. yoghurt or hamburger. Other scales gave analogous results. TIME/kcal for SF significantly exceeded all other meals on all measures. This approach allows fair comparison of differing products, and demonstrates that SF meal replacement drinks produce equal or greater satiety than several alternatives of equal or greater energy content.