2 Food and nutrition
The role of fibres in satiety How do we reverse the obesity epidemic?
In addition to undernutrition, overnutrition is a major cause of malnutrition The Global Burden of Disease report established in late 2012 that obesity is now, for the first time in history, a bigger health problem, in terms of number of people, than malnutrition.
W
ageningen scientists are looking for solutions
Fibres to prolong satiety
to tackle increasing obesity. The Satiety and
In 2008, research was initiated at Wageningen UR
Satisfaction programme focussed on the reasons
into another candidate for weight manage-ment:
behind excessive eating and the foods and ingredients
use dietary fibres to prolong satiety. This was logical,
that can be used to combat it.
as some types of fibre absorb a lot of water, thereby literally filling the stomach without providing a lot of
One of the keys in the fight against obesity is satiation.
calories. Fibres are also an energy source for various
Those who stop eating sooner, or are less quickly
intestinal bacteria, and the intestine, too, provides
tempted to grab a snack after a meal, are less likely
signals to the brains on the extent to which energy
to become overweight. There was an increased focus
requirements are met.
on this internal control on people’s appetite in the 1990s after it was discovered that mice insensitive
“Hunger is one of the strongest stimuli people
to the hormone leptin kept eating indefinitely. It
experience,” says Charon Zondervan of Wageningen UR
seemed that the trigger for a brake on overeating
Food & Biobased Research, who coordinated the
was discovered. And although it is now clear that
programme. “It is very hard to ignore. People who
there are other possible inhibitors for appetite, this has
want to lose weight have to go through a period of
not removed the focus on the mechanisms of meal
increased hunger. It would be useful if they could be
termination. A high protein diet, for example, seems
helped through this somehow.”
to result in a feeling of satiety sooner than a diet rich in sugars and fats.
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