The effect of addition of modified guar gum to a low-energy semisolid mealon appetite and body weight loss

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of addition of modified guar gum (GC) to a low-energy semisolid meal on appetite and body weight (BW) loss. SUBJECTS: Twenty eight mainly overweight male volunteers (age, 19-56y; body mass index, 29+/-2 kg m(-2); BW, 89.4 +/- 9.2 kg). DESIGN: Baseline of one week with self-selected diet. Three treatments of 2 weeks with a low-energy diet divided over three times a day, consisting of a semisolid meal with (SSM +) or without CG (SSM) or a solid meal (SM) wit h the same energy content (947 kJ) and macronutrient composition, and a din ner of the subject's own choice. Washout periods lasted 4 weeks. RESULTS: Compared to baseline values, reduction in energy intake and BW los s were similar for SSM +, SSM and SM. Appetite (hunger, desire to eat or es timation of how much one could eat) was increased in SSM and in SM compared to baseline, but not in SSM +. Satiety and fullness in SSM +, SSM and SM w ere similar to baseline. Any intervention was more effective on BW loss whe n it took place the first time compared to the second and third times (2.6 +/- 0.2 kg, 1.7 +/- 0.2 kg and 1.1 +/- 0.2 kg, respectively; P < 0.001). Th e SM - SSM + - SSM sequence was more effective on BW loss compared to the S SM + - SSM - SM sequence (5.6 +/- 1.0 and 2.5 +/- 0.6 kg, respectively; P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: All the three treatments were equally effective with respect to BW loss. GC addition to a semisolid meal prevented an increase in appetite , hunger and desire to eat, which increase was present in the other treatme nts. However, differences between treatments were not statistically signifi cant. The order effect shows that repeated 2-week bouts of dieting become i ncreasingly ineffective. The sequence SM - SSM + -SSM was more effective th an the sequence SSM + -SSM -SM, probably because compliance was relatively higher with the SSM + or SSM diet, and compliance decreased towards the end of the complete experiment.