Obese people are mostly unable to maintain successful weight loss after the end of a dietary change. One reason is that conventional weight reduction concepts neglect physiological hunger and satiety perception, leading to a relapse to previous eating habits on the long run. We examined the long-term efficacy of a psychological smartphone weight loss program, which avoids any dietary instructions and aims at relearning of satiety perception. Parameters of body weight alterations and psychological features, for example, satiety perception, food cravings, and emotional eating, were explored in a nonrandomized experimental study comprising 75 obese participants. Measurements occurred at baseline, two times during program application, as well as at 6- and 12-month follow-up. Participants displayed significant weight loss during the entire study period (p = .029) and showed an improved body composition at the 6-month follow-up (p = .018). These effects were associated with increased satiety perception, as well as reduced food cravings, and emotional eating habits. Notably, all improvements in measured parameters significantly sustained between the end of the program and the 12-month follow-up (p < .005 for all). Psychological relearning of satiety perception may outclass dietary approaches in terms of long-term efficiency.

UNASSIGNED: Dietary restrictions or reductions such as fasting for weight loss are often difficult to adhere to due to increased appetite and food cravings. Recently, gastrointestinal delivery of bitter hops has been shown to be effective at reducing appetite in men. Our aim was to determine the effect of a bitter hop extract on appetite and cravings in women, using a 24 h, water-only fast.
UNASSIGNED: This was a randomized, double-blind, cross-over treatment study. Thirty adult women were recruited and required to fast for 24 h from 1800 h to 1800 h on three occasions and given an ad libitum meal to break each fast. Treatments of either a placebo or one of two doses (high dose; HD: 250 mg or low dose; LD: 125 mg) of a bitter hop-based appetite suppressant (Amarasate®) were given twice per day at 16 and 20 h into the fast.
UNASSIGNED: The HD and LD treatment groups exhibited a significant (p < 0.05) reduction in appetite and cravings for food when compared to the placebo control. Two participants reported loose stools and one reported heartburn while on the HD treatment, and one participant reported loose stools while on the LD treatment.
UNASSIGNED: These data suggest that appetite suppressant co-therapy may be useful in reducing hunger during fasting in women and shows that gastrointestinal delivery of bitter compounds may also be an effective method of reducing cravings for food.This trial received ethical approval from the Northen B New Zealand Human Disability and Ethics committee (Northern B Health and Disability Ethics Committee (2022 EXP 10995) and was prospectively registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (ACTRN12622000107729).

The potential link between dysbiosis, features of metabolic syndrome (MetS), inflammation, and sensation impairment has been recently recognized. However, in this context, there are few indications available regarding the effects of co-supplementation with Bacillus indicus, Bacillus coagulans, and fructooligosaccharide (FOS) prebiotics on patients with MetS. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of synbiotic supplementation on glycemic indices, inflammatory biomarkers, and appetite among adults with MetS. This study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial conducted in the Endocrine and Metabolism Research Center outpatient clinic in Isfahan, Iran. Fifty-eight MetS patients were randomly assigned to receive either synbiotics (n = 29) or placebo (n = 29) supplementation twice per day for 8 weeks. Finally, 55 patients were recruited for analyses (28 in the intervention group and 27 in the placebo group). Random permuted blocks and a computer-generated random number table were used for treatment allocation. No adverse effects were reported during the study. There were no significant differences in glycemic indices and inflammatory markers within- and between groups (all p > .05). However, a significant increase in the sensation of fullness was documented in the synbiotic group. In conclusion, the eight-week treatment did not improve glycemic control and inflammatory markers. Nevertheless, it demonstrated potential efficacy in enhancing participants\' appetite sensations, warranting further evaluation in longer intervention periods during future clinical trials.

OBJECTIVE: Whole-grain pearl millet is a nutritious cereal source of dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds. It offers health benefits such as glycemic control and satiety. Extrusion cooking for diverse formulations, including beverages, can alter its chemical composition, impacting the nutritional value. This study aimed to evaluate the sensory acceptability of an extruded millet flour beverage and its acute effects on glycemic index (GI), glycemic and insulinemic response, food intake, and subjective appetite sensations in euglycemic and eutrophic adults.
METHODS: This is an acute, single-blind, randomized, controlled, cross-over clinical study comprising 14 euglycemic and eutrophic adults. Initially, beverages based on whole extruded millet flour were developed, and sensorially and chemically analyzed. Next, a clinical trial was conducted with participants undergoing four sessions and consuming one of the following options: extruded millet beverage, a maltodextrin control beverage, or a glucose solution administered in two separate sessions. Blood glucose, insulin, and appetite responses were assessed over a 2-h period, in addition to determining the GI of the beverages and analyzing food intake in the 24 h following each session.
RESULTS: The extruded millet flour strawberry-flavored beverage had the best sensory acceptance and was classified as having as high GI. Consumption of the extruded millet beverage showed similar glycemic and insulinemic responses, as well as appetite control and food intake of the subjects, when compared with consumption of the maltodextrin control beverage.
CONCLUSIONS: Intake of the extruded millet beverage maintained glycemic and insulinemic responses, appetite control, and food intake in euglycemic and eutrophic subjects.

The nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) receives direct viscerosensory vagal afferent input that drives autonomic reflexes, neuroendocrine function and modulates behaviour. A subpopulation of NTS neurons project to the nucleus accumbens (NAc); however, the function of this NTS-NAc pathway remains unknown. A combination of neuroanatomical tracing, slice electrophysiology and fibre photometry was used in mice and/or rats to determine how NTS-NAc neurons fit within the viscerosensory network. NTS-NAc projection neurons are predominantly located in the medial and caudal portions of the NTS with 54 ± 7% (mice) and 65 ± 3% (rat) being TH-positive, representing the A2 NTS cell group. In horizontal brainstem slices, solitary tract (ST) stimulation evoked excitatory post-synaptic currents (EPSCs) in NTS-NAc projection neurons. The majority (75%) received low-jitter, zero-failure EPSCs characteristic of monosynaptic ST afferent input that identifies them as second order to primary sensory neurons. We then examined whether NTS-NAc neurons respond to cholecystokinin (CCK, 20 μg/kg ip) in vivo in both mice and rats. Surprisingly, there was no difference in the number of activated NTS-NAc cells between CCK and saline-treated mice. In rats, just 6% of NTS-NAc cells were recruited by CCK. As NTS TH neurons are the primary source for NAc noradrenaline, we measured noradrenaline release in the NAc and showed that NAc noradrenaline levels declined in response to cue-induced reward retrieval but not foot shock. Combined, these findings suggest that high-fidelity afferent information from viscerosensory afferents reaches the NAc. These signals are likely unrelated to CCK-sensitive vagal afferents but could interact with other sensory and higher order inputs to modulate learned appetitive behaviours.

BACKGROUND: The differential effects of pecans versus other popular snack foods on appetite and blood markers of metabolism and satiety have not been well studied. This study investigated the effects of a single mid-morning snack of pecans or tortilla chips on subjective appetite, food intake, blood measures of hormones and metabolites, and resting energy expenditure.
METHODS: Twenty participants with overweight and obesity were enrolled in a within-participants, randomized crossover trial. Participants had indwelling catheters placed for blood sampling and were fed a standardized breakfast, followed two hours later by a 250 kcal snack of either pecans or tortilla chips, and then by a self-selected lunch. Visual analog scale (VAS) appetite measures, blood markers, and energy expenditure were taken at intervals after food consumption.
RESULTS: VAS ratings, energy, food intake and macronutrient composition did not differ between treatment conditions, but glucose and insulin were significantly more elevated after tortilla chips. Free fatty acids (FFA), triglycerides (TG), peptide YY (PYY), and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) were higher after consuming pecans compared to tortilla chips.
CONCLUSIONS: Pecan consumption improves postprandial glucose and insulin profiles which would be beneficial to individuals at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Further studies are needed to investigate whether increased relative secretion of PYY and GLP-1 after eating pecans versus tortilla chips may affect subjective appetite and energy intake if consumed chronically.

We compared the performance of three food categorisation metrics in predicting palatability (taste pleasantness) using a dataset of 52 foods, each rated virtually (online) by 72-224 participants familiar with the foods in question, as described in Appetite 193 (2024) 107124. The metrics were nutrient clustering, NOVA, and nutrient profiling. The first two of these metrics were developed to identify, respectively: \'hyper-palatable\' foods (HPFs); and ultra-processed foods (UPFs), which are claimed to be \'made to be hyper-palatable\'. The third metric categorises foods as high fat, sugar, salt (HFSS) foods versus non-HFSS foods. There were overlaps, but also significant differences, in categorisation of the foods by the three metrics: of the 52 foods, 35 (67%) were categorised as HPF, and/or UPF, and/or HFSS, and 17 (33%) were categorised as none of these. There was no significant difference in measured palatability between HPFs and non-HPFs, nor between UPFs and non-UPFs (p ≥ 0.412). HFSS foods were significantly more palatable than non-HFSS foods (p = 0.049). None of the metrics significantly predicted food reward (desire to eat). These results do not support the use of hypothetical combinations of food ingredients as proxies for palatability, as done explicitly by the nutrient clustering and NOVA metrics. To discover what aspects of food composition predict palatability requires measuring the palatability of a wide range of foods that differ in composition, as we do here.

Organisms experience constant nutritional flux. Mechanisms at the interface of opposing nutritional states-scarcity and surplus-enable organismal energy homeostasis. Contingent on nutritional stores, adipocytes secrete adipokines, such as the fat hormone leptin, to signal nutrient status to the central brain. Increased leptin secretion underlies metabolic dysregulation during common obesity, but the molecular mechanisms regulating leptin secretion from human adipocytes are poorly understood. Here, we report that Atg8/LC3 family proteins, best known for their role in autophagy during nutrient scarcity, play an evolutionarily conserved role during nutrient surplus by promoting adipokine secretion. We show that in a well-fed state, Atg8/LC3 promotes the secretion of the Drosophila functional leptin ortholog unpaired 2 (Upd2) and leptin from human adipocytes. Proteomic analyses reveal that LC3 directs leptin to a secretory pathway in human cells. We identified LC3-dependent extracellular vesicle (EV) loading and secretion (LDELS) as a required step for leptin release, highlighting a unique secretory route adopted by leptin in human adipocytes. In Drosophila, mutations to Upd2\'s Atg8 interaction motif (AIM) result in constitutive adipokine retention. Atg8-mediated Upd2 retention alters lipid storage and hunger response and rewires the bulk organismal transcriptome in a manner conducive to starvation survival. Thus, Atg8/LC3\'s bidirectional role in nutrient sensing-conveying nutrient surplus and responding to nutrient deprivation-enables organisms to manage nutrient flux effectively. We posit that decoding how bidirectional molecular switches-such as Atg8/LC3-operate at the nexus of nutritional scarcity and surplus will inform therapeutic strategies to tackle chronic metabolic disorders.

BACKGROUND: Previously, an intervention involving volitional slow breathing reduced trait food craving with protective effects on cardiac vagal activity (CVA). Breathing with a low inspiration-to-expiration (i/e) ratio also increases CVA. High CVA was separately associated with low unregulated eating and lesser impulsivity. Hence, the present study assessed breathing with a low i/e for effects on state food craving, hunger and satiety, state impulsivity, and heart rate variability (HRV) in healthy obese persons.
METHODS: Forty obese persons were randomized to two groups. The intervention group (mean age ± SD, 41.15 ± 12.63, M:F, 10:10) practiced metronome-regulated breathing with low i/e at 12 breaths per minute (expiration 72% of total breath duration) and attained expiration 55.8% of total breath duration, while the active control group (mean age ± SD, 44.45 ± 11.06, M:F, 13:07) sat motionless and directed their gaze and awareness to the stationary metronome without modifying their breath consciously. The HRV was recorded before, during, and after breathing intervention (or control) (standard limb lead I, acquisition at 2,000 Hz, with an LF filter = 0.5 Hz and HF filter = 50 Hz). Time-domain and frequency-domain HRV parameters were obtained with Kubios software. State food craving, and hunger and satiety were recorded before and after the intervention/control.
RESULTS: The intervention group decreased total state food craving scores and the sub-domains (i.e., desire to eat, positive reinforcement, lack of control and hunger), increased current satisfaction with food, decreased total state impulsivity (repeated measures ANOVA, p < 0.05 in all cases), increased HF-HRV and RMSSD (linear mixed model analyses with age and gender as fixed factors; p < 0.05 in all cases) during the intervention compared to the preceding baseline. The intervention group also showed an increase in positive mood and a decrease in aroused and negative mood states.
CONCLUSIONS: Changes in state food craving and impulsivity could be related to an increase in HRV or to changes in subjective relaxation and positive mood or to both.
Eine frühere Intervention mit willentlich verlangsamter Atmung führte zu vermindertem Trait Food Craving mit protektiver Wirkung auf die kardiale vagale Aktivität (CVA). Atmung mit niedrigem Inspirations-/Exspirations-Quotienten (i/e) erhöht ebenfalls die CVA. Eine hohe CVA war separat mit geringem unreguliertem Essen und geringerer Impulsivität assoziiert. Darum untersuchte diese Studie die Auswirkungen der Atmung mit niedrigem i/e auf State Food Craving, Hunger- und Sättigungsgefühl, State-Impulsivität und Herzfrequenzvariabilität (HRV) bei gesunden, adipösen Personen. 40 adipöse Personen wurden per Randomisierung auf zwei Gruppen aufgeteilt. Die Interventionsgruppe (mittleres Alter ±SD: 41.15 ± 12.63; M:F: 10:10) praktizierte Metronom-regulierte Atmung mit einem niedrigen i/e von 12 Atemzügen pro Minute (Exspiration 72% der Gesamtdauer des Atemzugs) (AZ/min) und erreichte einen Exspirations-Anteil an der Gesamtdauer des Atemzugs von 55.8%, während die aktive Kontrollgruppe (mittleres Alter ±SD: 44.45 ± 11.06, M:F: 13:07) stillsaß und ihren Blick und ihre Aufmerksamkeit auf das stationäre Metronom richtete, ohne die Atmung bewusst zu verändern. Die HRV wurde vor, während und nach der Atmungs-Intervention bzw. Kontrollmaßnahme erfasst (Standard-Extremitätenableitung I, Erfassung bei 2,000 Hz, mit NF-Filter = 0,5 Hz und HF-Filter = 50 Hz). Zeit-Domänen und Frequenz-Domänen-HRV-Parameter wurden mittels Kubios-Software bestimmt. State Food Craving, Hunger-und Sättigungsgefühl wurden vor und nach der Intervention/Kontrollmaßnahme erfasst. Die Interventionsgruppe zeigte während der Intervention im Vergleich zu den vorhergehenden Ausgangswerten verminderte Scores für State Food Craving insgesamt und in den Subdomänen (Verlangen zu essen, positive Verstärkung, Kontrollverlust und Hungergefühl), erhöhte aktuelle Zufriedenheit mit dem Essen, verminderte State-Impulsivität insgesamt (ANOVA mit wiederholten Messungen; p < 0.05 in allen Fällen), erhöhte HF-HRV und RMSSD (Analysen mit linearen gemischten Modellen mit Alter und Geschlecht als festen Faktoren; p < 0.05 in allen Fällen). Die Interventionsgruppe zeigte außerdem einen Anstieg bei positiver Stimmung und eine Abnahme bei erregten und negativen Stimmungslagen. Die Veränderungen bei State Food Craving und Impulsivität könnten mit einer Zunahme der HRV oder mit Veränderungen bei subjektiver Entspannung und positiver Stimmung oder mit beidem zusammenhängen.

The consumption of protein-rich foods stimulates satiety more than other macronutrient-rich foods; however, the underlying mechanisms-of-action are not well-characterized. The objective of this study was to identify the direct and indirect effects of postprandial amino acid (AA) responses on satiety. Seventeen women (mean ± SEM, age: 33 ± 1 year; BMI: 27.8 ± 0.1 kg/m2) consumed a eucaloric, plant-based diet containing two servings of lean beef/day (i.e., 7.5 oz (207 g)) for 7 days. During day 6, the participants completed a 12 h controlled-feeding, clinical testing day including repeated satiety questionnaires and blood sampling to assess pre- and postprandial plasma AAs, PYY, and GLP-1. Regression and mediation analyses were completed to assess AA predictors and hormonal mediators. Total plasma AAs explained 41.1% of the variance in perceived daily fullness (p < 0.001), 61.0% in PYY (p < 0.001), and 66.1% in GLP-1 (p < 0.001) concentrations, respectively. Several individual AAs significantly predicted fluctuations in daily fullness, PYY, and GLP-1. In completing mediation analyses, the effect of plasma leucine on daily fullness was fully mediated by circulating PYY concentrations (indirect effect = B: 0.09 [Boot 95% CI: 0.032, 0.17]) as no leucine-fullness direct effect was observed. No other mediators were identified. Although a number of circulating AAs predict satiety, leucine was found to do so through changes in PYY concentrations in middle-aged women.