Appetite Modifying Foods Don’t Alter Calorie Intake

21 Oct 2016 --- Food marketed as having appetite-modifying properties does not alter consumers’ calorie intake, according to a new study from the University of Sheffield. Scientists say their findings show there is no link between how hungry we feel and the amount of calories we consume. 

The study’s researchers claim that the findings highlight a problem with health claims made by the food industry and the way in which many products are advertised, especially those aimed at people trying to lose weight.

Researchers from the University’s Department of Oncology and Metabolism analyzed 462 scientific studies and found appetite ratings failed to correspond with energy intake in the majority of studies.

Dr Bernard Corfe, from the Molecular Gastroenterology Research Group, who led the study said: “The food industry is littered with products which are marketed on the basis of their appetite-modifying properties.”

“Whilst these claims may be true, they shouldn’t be extended to imply that energy intake will be reduced as a result.”

Corfe continued, “For example, you could eat a meal which claims to satisfy your appetite and keep you feeling full-up for a long period of time but nonetheless go on to consume a large amount of calories later on.”

Of the studies the team looked at, only six per cent tested a direct statistical comparison between energy intake and appetite, something the researchers say suggests that previous researchers had avoided reporting this finding.

Of the six percent only around half could find a link, something that the researchers believe further emphasizes how tenuous the relationship is.

Commenting on the study, an FDF spokesperson told NutritionInsight: “All research that helps our understanding of what impacts on the food people choose to eat is to be welcomed."

"However, it is not new news that there are many reasons why we eat, which go far beyond when we feel hungry. Food that helps people to feel full, is one mechanism which can help people moderate the amount of food, and therefore energy they eat."

They added, "All health claims, including those about appetite moderation, are controlled by European law and have to go through an approval process including the submission of a scientific dossier to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for review.”

However, the research team state that more research is needed to examine other factors governing actual food intake, including sensorial environment, social factors, entrained behavior relating to food timing, along with our innate physical regulation of intake.

“More research needs to be done into the other factors which do influence our calorie intake,” confirmed Dr Corfe.

“This will be important to understand how obesity occurs, how to prevent it, and how we need to work in partnership with the food industry to develop improved tests for foods that are genuinely and effectively able to satisfy appetite.”

by Hannah Gardiner