Lighter approach to indulgence

MIDDLE Eastern nations are no exception to the global obesity trend. In spite of a more physical lifestyle in these regions, overweight and obesity – and the associated metabolic disorders such as cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes they engender – are dramatically increasing among adults in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, according to the World Health Organisation.

WHO data for adults aged 15 years and older from 16 countries in the region show the highest levels of overweight and obesity in Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. “The prevalence of overweight and obesity in these countries ranges from 74% to 86% in women and 69% to 77% in men. These data indicate a much higher prevalence of obesity among adult women, while overweight is more marked among adult men. Escalating levels of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents is of particular concern given recent evidence linking childhood and adolescent obesity to increased risk of obesity and morbidity in adulthood,” according to the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO) website.

It doesn’t take much to cross over from weight maintenance to weight increase. For example, the rise in body weight in the U.S. population from 1980-1994 could be accounted for by an intake of only 4 kcal higher than that needed to maintain a healthy weight per day in women and 13 kcal higher in men1. As a result, a typical adult can gain approximately 1kg per year over their lifetime. Taking this into consideration, it’s clear that eating just a few less calories per day could make the difference between a healthy, or unhealthy, bodyweight.

Prebiotic fibres can help food manufacturers and therefore consumers address this issue and support weight management in the following key ways:

? Helping consumers to eat less calories

? Reducing the caloric value of foods

? Managing their blood sugar

Positive results with prebiotic fibre intake

Oligofructose-enriched inulin and oligofructose from Beneo have been shown to have beneficial effects on human energy balance, by helping to reduce spontaneous caloric intake in people consuming a non-restricted diet. In a study involving overweight and obese adults, Orafti ? Synergy1, included at a daily dosage of 12g/day for three weeks, resulted in a significant reduction in energy intake2.

However, it isn’t only those who are overweight who can benefit from an increase of prebiotic fibre in the diet. Two earlier studies conducted in normal weight adults supplemented with 16g/day of Orafti Synergy1 or Orafti ? Oligofructose3, 4 during two weeks, also showed that the total daily energy intake of the participants was reduced when the prebiotic fibres were present in their diet.

The effects of prebiotic fibres on energy intake have further been shown to have positive consequences in the context of body weight management. A three -month intervention in overweight and obese adults has demonstrated that prebiotic fibre supplementation can bring adult weight gain to a halt5.

This study found a reduction in body weight of 1kg in the group fed 21g of oligofructose per day, compared with an increase of 0.5kg in the control group. While this does not represent a cure for obesity, such reductions in weight could, over time, help consumers to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

It is also worth noting that weight reduction was mostly abdominal fat loss, an important factor in reducing the risk of metabolic disease. By week six in this three-month study, there was also a significant reduction in energy intake in the prebiotic group, compared with the control group.

Using prebiotic fibres to reduce calories

So, how can manufacturers add dietary fibre to foods to promote reduced caloric content, without altering the product’s taste profile?

Orafti prebiotic fibres are non-digestible carbohydrates derived from chicory roots and can be used to enrich the fibre content of a wide range of food and drink products. Not only can they be used to add fibre to a product, but they can also be used to reduce the fat or sugar content without altering the product’s taste or texture.

Compared to fully available, high glycaemic carbohydrates, inulin-type fructans from chicory provide only half the calories.

These prebiotic fibres can replace high glycaemic carbohydrates (such as glucose, sucrose, maltodextrins or starch as in white bread or boiled potatoes), on a weight by weight basis, lowering the glycaemic profile of the final product. As a result, prebiotic fibres enable food manufacturers to produce lighter versions of traditionally indulgent food products such as ice cream, yoghurt, dairy drinks or smoothies that consumers do not want to sacrifice when entering a healthier eating regime.

1 Khan LK & Bowman BA (1999) Obesity: a major public health problem. Annu Rev Nutr 19, 13-17.

2 McCann MT et al (2011) Oligofructose-enriched inulin supplementation decreases energy intake in overweight and obese men and women. Obes Rev 12 (Suppl 1) 63-279.

3 Cani PD et al (2009) Gut microbiota fermentation of prebiotics increases satietogenic and incretin gut peptide production with consequences for appetite sensation and glucose response after a meal. Am J Clin Nutr 90, 1236-1243.

4 Cani PD et al (2006) Oligofructose promotes satiety in healthy human: a pilot study. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 60: 567-572, 2006.

5 Parnell JA, Reimer RA (2009) Weight loss during oligofructose supplementation is associated with decreased ghrelin and increased peptide YY in overweight and obese adults. Am J Clin Nutr 89 (6) 1751-1759