Dietary fat, fibre, satiation, and satiety—a systematic review of acute studies

Andrew Warrilow, Duane Mellor, Andrew McKune, Kate Pumpa

Humans appear to have innate energy regulation mechanisms that manifest in sensations of satiation during a meal and satiety post ingestion. Interactions between these mechanisms and the macronutrient profile of their contemporary food environment could be responsible for the dysregulation of this mechanism, resulting in a higher energy intake. The aim of this systematic review was to determine the impact of dietary fibre and fat both in isolation and combination on satiation and satiety. A systematic review of the literature was undertaken, from inception until end December 2017, in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines, in: Scopus, Food Science and Tech, CINAHL, and Medline databases. The search strategy was limited to articles in English language, published in peer-reviewed journals and human studies. Studies were selected based on inclusion/exclusion criteria. A total of 1490 studies were found initially using the selected search terms that were reduced to 12 studies suitable for inclusion. Following on from this, a meta-analysis was also conducted to determine any satiety effects from any potential interaction between dietary fat and fibre on satiety, no significant effects were found. Owing to high energy density, fat (per kJ) had a weak effect on satiation as determined by the effect per gram for each unit of energy. The addition of fibre theoretically improves satiety by slowing the absorption of various nutrients including fat, although the meta-analysis as part of this review was unable to demonstrate an effect, perhaps reflecting a lack of sensitivity in research design. The potential to improve satiation and satiety responses by consuming fat together with carbohydrates containing fibre warrants further investigation.