Litesse® (polydextrose) — Satiety and Weight Management
In a recent report, the World Health Organization estimated that, globally in 2005, 1.6 billion adults were overweight and at least 400 million adults were obese. WHO also projected that by 2015 approximately 2.3 billion adults will be overweight and obesity will affect more than 700 million people worldwide.1
The numbers are staggering and will have a tremendous impact on the future of consumers’ health and quality of life. People who are overweight or obese have an increased risk for serious chronic diseases such as:
- cardiovascular disease which kills 17 million people per year;
- diabetes which has rapidly become a worldwide epidemic;
- musculoskeletal diseases like osteoarthritis;
- some cancers including endometrial, breast and colon cancer.
Weight gain is fundamentally caused by an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure. The last few decades have evidenced a global shift toward the increased consumption of energy dense foods combined with a trend of decreased physical activity. In fact, an excess consumption of a mere 100 calories per day could lead to a weight gain of 5 kilos or 10 lbs. per year.2
For most people, food consumption is largely determined by their sense of hunger. We eat to become satiated. However, eating behaviours are only partially driven by physical hunger. Psychological and social conditions can contribute to patterns of overeating and excessive weight gain. The measurement of satiety is only one aspect of a successful strategy for weight management.
It is generally understood that foods with a low glycaemic index (low-GI) are more satiating. The consumption of high-GI carbohydrates may increase hunger and promote overeating relative to consumption of items with a lower GI.3
Today, many food developers are focused on creating products that will help consumers eat fewer calories to satiate their hunger and, thus, help them maintain a healthy body weight.
Litesse® (polydextrose), from Danisco, is a 1 kcal/gram, speciality carbohydrate that is sugar free, prebiotic, high in fibre and low glycaemic. High fibre and low glycaemic foods help to moderate fluctuations in blood sugar levels and can suppress hunger longer. This, in turn, can discourage overeating and assist with weight management. Litesse® can play a key role in the development of foods that are less dense with calories, high in fibre and have a lower glycaemic response.
Human clinical studies indicate that reduced calorie foods made with Litesse® impart an increased feeling of fullness — or satiety — allowing consumers to delay the feeling of hunger longer. It was also shown that the satiating effect of Litesse® can actually inhibit subsequent food intake, with total caloric reductions between 5-25%. The same research indicated that these consumers did not overcompensate at their next meal by eating more calories.4
For more than 25 years, Litesse® has been used to reduce calories, fat and sugar in a wide range of foods and beverages. The satiating effect of Litesse® presents new opportunities for food companies to develop reduced calorie products or reformulate existing brands to be more satisfying to weight-conscious consumers. Snacks; nutrition bars; baked goods; cereals and beverages — all can now be formulated to induce satiety with the consumption of fewer calories.
Litesse® polydextrose is approved by the FDA for use in virtually all food and beverage applications. The only exceptions are meat, poultry, baby food and infant formula.
With Litesse® as part of the formulation, consumers can reduce their caloric intake and be satisfied longer.
Litesse® is the single ingredient with multiple benefits.
For more information, contact donna.brooks@danisco.com
References
1 World Health Organization (2007) <http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/index.html - accessed 25.09.07>
2 Larson Duyff R (2002) American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide 2nd Edition Page 29
3 Roberts SB (2000) High-glycemic index foods, hunger, and obesity: Is there a connection? Nutr. Rev. 58, 163-9.
4 King NA, Craig SAS, Pepper T and Blundell JE (2005) Evaluation of the independent and combined effects of xylitol and polydextrose consumed as a snack on hunger and energy intake over 10d. British Journal of Nutrition 93, 911-915
