Dietary fiber and body-weight weight regulation - Observations and mechanisms

Dietary fiber may have beneficial effects on body weight regulation through plausible physiological mechanisms that have considerable support in the s cientific literature. A large number of short-term studies suggest that hig h fiber foods induce greater satiation and satiety. Epidemiologic studies g enerally support a role for fiber in body weight regulation among free-livi ng individuals consuming self-selected diets, though conclusive interventio n studies addressing this point are lacking. Few studies of dietary fiber h ave involved children as subjects; however, there is no physiologic reason to believe that results of studies of fiber in adults should not be applica ble to pediatrics.