[PHNUTR-L] Over-eating linked to change of food and seasoning - study

[Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD]

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Over-eating linked to change of food and seasoning - study

By Stephen Daniells
http://www.foodnavigator.com/news/ng.asp?n=68348&m=1fne612&c=xeiqgoegavfxtla

12/06/2006 - The sense of feeling full can be reduced by new flavours 
and seasoning, and may be linked to over-eating, says new Franco-German 
research.

This fundamental research holds considerable potential for food makers: 
identifying signals for satiety would lead to new product designs that 
encompass certain flavours and ingredients that could provide the 
consumer with a full up trigger.

Over-consumption of food, and therefore having an energy intake that 
exceeds expenditure, is seen as a major risk factor in the development 
of obesity. The new study, published in the journal Physiology and 
Behaviour (Vol. 87, pp. 469-477), appears to suggest that demand for 
variety and new flavours may be tempting people to eat more.

"Spontaneous intake of a sensorily varied diet can lead to 
over-consumption and weight-gain, especially with highly refined 
energy-dense foods. In contrast, monotonous meals may reduce intake and 
lead to weight loss," said lead author Michael Romer from the Department 
of Clinical Neurology, AKH, Austria.

Sensory-specific satiety (SSS) is defined as "a decrease in pleasure 
aroused by a specific food which has just been eaten in contrast to 
other non-consumed food". It is purely sensory and does not require food 
to enter the intestinal tract, and is not linked to calories.

The new study reports that a SSS may promote the search for diversity 
and new foods, and also that SSS for a given food can be reversed simply 
by seasoning: this last observation has never been reported before, say 
the researchers.

The scientists preformed three experiments with the help of 180 young 
volunteers (average age 27, BMI 21.5 kg per sq. m) divided into three 
groups. The first experiment looked at the effects of pleasure and 
appetite of one food before and after eating it. The second experiment 
looked at pleasure and appetite of a second food after eating the first. 
The third experiment looked at offering the same food as the first after 
seasoning.

Six foods were used in the experiments, divided into three groups: 
vegetable (cucumber, tomato), sweet fruits (pineapple, banana), nuts 
(peanut, pistachio).

After only two minutes of eating the first food, the researchers found 
that further intake was limited by SSS, due to 'sensory fatigue' of 
eating the same food. This was shown by an 86 per cent decrease in 
'olfactory pleasure' towards the food.

During intake of the first food, the pleasure for the second increased 
by 39 per cent, while decreasing the pleasure of the first by 79 per 
cent. When a second (different) food was offered, olfactory pleasure for 
the first food increased by 12 per cent after eating the second food.

The third experiment showed that seasoning of food renewed the 
flavour-pleasure of the food, and even surpassed the initial pleasure by 
about 25 per cent.

"The renewal in flavour-pleasure for the seasoned food was associated 
with additional food intake (plus 84.2 per cent in weight; 86 per cent 
in volume and 111.6 per cent in calories)," said Romer.

This research has two important implications, say the researchers, with 
the phenomena of SSS participating in the induction of a specific 
feeling of fullness, and therefore the end of eating, and secondly, that 
SSS may promote the search for new foods during a meal.

Better understanding the human response to such stimuli may help better 
understand the link between food intake and obesity. The results of this 
study appear to indicate that increased palatability is linked to 
increased food intake.

However, research is on-going into how certain flavours and ingredients 
can decrease food intake by increasing satiety. Last year, the 
Brussels-backed DiOGenes project was launched to explore the possibility 
that certain ingredients and flavours may enhance or diminish "full-up", 
satiety signals in the consumer.

Over 300m adults are obese worldwide, according to latest statistics 
from the WHO and the International Obesity Task Force. About one-quarter 
of the US adult population is said to be obese, with rates in Western 
Europe on the rise although not yet at similar levels.
-- 
Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD < fivestar at nutritionucanlivewith.com >
"Ask the Parkinson Dietitian"  http://www.parkinson.org/
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