Dietary Fiber - Dietary Fiber and Obesity

Dietary Fiber and Obesity

Dietary fiber has many functions in diet, one of which may be to aid in energy intake control and reduced risk for development of obesity. The role of dietary fiber in energy intake regulation and obesity development is related to its unique physical and chemical properties that aid in early signals of satiation and enhanced or prolonged signals of satiety. Early signals of satiation may be induced through cephalic- and gastric-phase responses related to the bulking effects of dietary fiber on energy density and palatability, whereas the viscosity-producing effects of certain fibers may enhance satiety through intestinal-phase events related to modified gastrointestinal function and subsequent delay in fat absorption.

In general, fiber-rich diets, whether achieved through fiber supplementation or incorporation of high fiber foods into meals, have a reduced energy density compared with high fat diets. This is related to fiber’s ability to add bulk and weight to the diet.

However, the subsequent effect of fiber on food intake has been more variable because in some cases, food intake at a test meal was reduced, in other cases, it was not. Although much of the discrepancy in results may be ascribed to differences among studies, different responses related to gender and body weight status (i.e., obese vs. normal weight) may also be responsible. With regard to gender, work in our laboratory indicates that women may be more sensitive to dietary manipulation with fiber than men, which is consistent with a previous report by Burley et al. (1993). Moreover, we have found that the subjective satiety response to dietary manipulation in men and women is supported by differences in the CCK response, suggesting that signals for satiety differ between genders (Burton-Freeman et al. 1998 and personal communication). The relationship of body weight status and fiber effect on energy intake suggests that obese individuals may be more likely to reduce food intake (Evans and Miller 1975, Porikos and Hagamen 1986) with dietary fiber inclusion.