Abstract

Introduction: It has been described that dietary fibers (DF) could have favorable effects in the control of subjective feelings related to appetite/satiety, property that in the current epidemiological context could be beneficial. Objective: to evaluate the acute effect of 3 types of DF on the subjective perception of feelings related to appetite/satiety. Material and Methods: Randomized, double-blinded, controlled, crossover study. 21 healthy subjects with body mass index between 18.5-24.9kg/m2 were randozomized to consume 4 separate breakfasts for at least 2 days. The breakfasts were fortified with 3 g of: oat β-glucan (BETA), apple pectins (PECT), microcrystalline cellulose (CELL) and maltodextrin as control (MALT). The subjective feelings of appetite/satiety were determined with a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) before breakfast and at 15, 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes. Results: In analysis of variances (ANOVA) showed a significant difference at 15 minutes (p<0.05) in the perception of satiety of breakfast fortified with apple pectin versus oat β-glucan. Oat β-glucan produced the least effect on subjective satiety (p <0.05). An ANOVA of repeated measures did not show effects of the types of fibers added to breakfast on the subjective feeling of appetite. Conclusions: Apple pectins appear to be more effective than other types of DF to increase the subjective perception of satiety and decrease appetite, especially in the early postprandial period.