Novel calcium-gelled, alginate-pectin beverage reduced energy intake in nondieting overweight and obese women: interactions with dietary restraint status.

BACKGROUND: Foods containing strong-gelling fibers may provide a safe and efficacious strategy for reducing food intake by stimulating endogenous satiety signaling.

OBJECTIVE: A novel, 2-part beverage, consisting of alginate-pectin and calcium components, that forms a stable, fibrous gel in the stomach was tested to determine its effects on subjective satiety and food intake in overweight and obese women.

DESIGN: The investigation was a within-subjects, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Subjects (n = 29) ingested a 2-part beverage twice per day (once before breakfast and once midafternoon) for 7 d. Three alginate-pectin formulations were tested: 1.0 g, 2.8 g, and control (no fiber). Subjective satiety and ad libitum food intake were measured on days 1 and 7 of each 1-wk treatment period with a 1-wk washout between testings.

RESULTS: A significant reduction in food intake was observed at dinner for both formulations compared with the control formulation. The effects of the gel beverage differed as a function of rigid dietary restraint status. Women in the lower 50th percentile of rigid restraint consumed 12% less energy during the day and 22% less for the evening snack in the 2.8-g condition compared with the control condition. No effect was found for women in the upper 50th percentile of rigid restraint.

CONCLUSIONS: Consumption of a postingestion, calcium-gelled fiber beverage twice daily reduced energy intake in overweight and obese women with low rigid restraint scores. Use of foods designed to enhance satiety may be an effective adjunctive therapy for weight loss; however, more research is needed to determine how dietary restraint alters this response.