Abstract
Consumption of reduced energy dense foods and drink has the potential to reduce energy intake and postprandial blood glucose concentrations. In addition, the taste quality of a meal (e.g., sweet or savoury) may play a role in satiation and food intake. The objective of this randomised crossover study was to examine whether energy density and taste quality has an impact on energy intake and postprandial blood glucose response. Using a preload design, participants were asked to consume a sweet (“Cheng Teng”) or a savoury (broth) preload soup in high energy density (HED; around 0.50 kcal/g; 250 kcal) or low energy density (LED; around 0.12 kcal/g; 50 kcal) in mid-morning and an ad libitum lunch was provided an hour after the preload. Participants recorded their food intake for the rest of the day after they left the study site. Energy compensation and postprandial blood glucose response were measured in 32 healthy lean males (mean age = 28.9 years, mean BMI = 22.1 kg/m2). There was a significant difference in ad libitum lunch intake between treatments (p = 0.012), with higher intake in sweet LED and savoury LED compared to sweet HED and savoury HED. Energy intake at subsequent meals and total daily energy intake did not differ between the four treatments (both p ≥ 0.214). Consumption of HED preloads resulted in a larger spike in postprandial blood glucose response compared with LED preloads, irrespective of taste quality (p < 0.001). Energy density rather than taste quality plays an important role in energy compensation and postprandial blood glucose response. This suggests that regular consumption of low energy-dense foods has the potential to reduce overall energy intake and to improve glycemic control.
Highlights
Long-term consumption of excess energy in the absence of energy compensation may result in positive energy balance over time, which could lead to higher risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and certain type of cancers [1,2,3,4]
We have recently shown that removing energy from a sweetened drink by substituting sugar with a non-nutritive sweetener produced relatively small changes in daily energy intake, and with no significant net savings in daily energy intake despite the lower calorie preloads [51]
The current study found a similar result where there was no significant difference in total daily energy intake between the four treatments, questioning the impact of small, acute reductions in energy intake on later energy intake, and the need to either increase preload energy deficits or frequency of preload consumption, or extend the intervention period for longer to observe stronger effects on energy intake over time
Summary
Long-term consumption of excess energy in the absence of energy compensation may result in positive energy balance over time, which could lead to higher risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and certain type of cancers [1,2,3,4]. Food form [5,6,7,8,9], palatability [10,11,12], weight or volume [13,14], energy density [15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22], and portion size [16,23,24,25,26] have been consistently shown to influence energy intake. Less is known regarding the role of taste qualities in energy intake. The sense of taste has a unique role in guiding our food choice. Previous research has estimated that over 85% of the of the energy consumed in the diet is derived from either sweet or salty tasting foods, which contribute to 47% and 39% of energy consumed respectively [27]
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