The Role of Dietary Fibre in Weight Management and Satiety

Maintaining a healthy bodyweight is an important contributor to good health, and can also be a challenge. Increasing the level of fibre in your diet can aid in this challenge through its satiety effect and to top it off you will get numerous other health benefits from fibre as well.

What is Fibre?

Fibre is part of the plant material that is neither digested or absorbed in our body, but plays many roles in maintaining health. There are two types of fibre; soluble and insoluble. Soluble fibre dissolves in water, forming a gel in the intestines and includes food sources such as oatmeal, barley, kidney beans, and some fruits and vegetables. Insoluble fibre passes through the digestive system almost intact, adding bulk to the stool and acting as a sponge to absorb water. It is found in foods such as wheat bran, whole grains, as well as fruits and vegetables. The recommended intake for fibre is 25-30g each day.

Table 1: Food Source of Fibre¹

Health Benefits of Fibre

A diet high in fibre has been shown to have many health benefits including supporting a healthy digestive system, reducing the risk of certain cancers and cardiovascular disease, reducing cholesterol and more recently has gained attention for its weight management potential. Population studies have found that people who have the highest fibre consumption also have the lowest body weight or body fat. ^{2, 3, 4} Additionally, it has also been shown that the consumption of whole grains reduces weight gain.⁵ It was found that in studies where subjects consumed high fibre diets, they also had higher intakes of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and cereals and low consumption of processed meat, butter, and high fat cheese^{6, 2}

Fibre, Satiation and Satiety

Satiation is the satisfaction of appetite you feel during eating that causes you to stop eating and satiety is the feeling of satisfaction between meals.⁷ Fibre has been thought to reduce the amount of food you eat, and therefore the amount of energy or calories, through its satiating effect. Fibre has a low caloric or energy density, while still adding bulk and weight to the diet; therefore, you can consume the same amount of food at a lower energy level.^{8, 9} A study that looked at the satiation and satiety effect of 16g of oligofructose, a type of soluble fibre, daily for 2 weeks, in comparison to a placebo showed that oligofructose significantly reduced hunger during the meal and also reduced the amount of food consumption at the following meal.¹⁰ The mechanism of action fibre has in eliciting a satiation effect is thought to be due to delaying gastric emptying¹¹, or the speed that food empties from the stomach and enters the intestine.

How can I increase fibre in my diet?

• Look for grain products where the first ingredient listed is whole-wheat or whole grain.
• Use brown rice, whole grain barley, bulgur, buckwheat, and millet in soups and salads or as cereals and side dishes and replace regular pasta with whole-wheat pasta.
• Substitute whole-wheat flour for half or all of the flour in baked goods.
• Be sure to get your 8-10 servings of fruits and vegetables every day and don’t forget to eat the skins and edible seeds as they contain the most fibre.
• Replace the meat portion of your meal with beans on occasion. They not only contain protein but are high in fibre and low in fat.

References:

1. USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 21.
2. Davis JN, et al. Nornal-weight adults consume more fiber and fruit than their age- and height-matched overweight/obese counterparts. J Am Diet Assoc. 2006; 106:833-40.
3. Howarth NC, et al. Dietary fiber and fat are associated with excess weight in young and middle-aged US adults. J Am Diet Assoc. 2005; 105:1365-72.
4. Slaving JL. Dietary fiber and body weight. Nutrition. 2005; 21:411-8.
5. Koh-Banerjee P, et al. Changes in whole-grain, bran, and cereal fiber consumption in relation to 8-y weight gain among men. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004; 80:1237-45.
6. Schulz M, et al. Identification of a food pattern characterized by high-fiber and low-fat food choices associated with low prospective weight change in the EPIC-Potsdam cohort. J Nutr. 2005; 135:1183-9.
7. Burton-Freeman B. Dietary fiber and energy regulation. J Nutr. 2000; 130:272-75.
8. Rolls BJ, et al. Volume of food consumed affects satiety in men. Am J Clin Nutr. 1998; 67:1170-77.
9. Seagle HM, et al. Energy density of self reported food intake: variation and relationship to other food components. Obes Res. 1997; 5:S87.
10. Cani PD et al. Oligofructose promotes satiety in healthy human: a pilot study. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2006; 60:567-72.
11. Benini L et al. Gastric emptying of a solid meal is accelerated by the removal of dietary fibre naturally present in food. Gut. 1995; 36(6): 825–830.

LEAN CUISINE® provides more great ways to add fibre to your day:

Here are some recommended meals that will boost your fibre intake!

Chicken Parmigiana

Chicken & Vegetables

Chicken in Thai Peanut Sauce