Short-term effects of whole-grain wheat on appetite and food intake in healthy adults: a pilot study

While it has been proposed, based on epidemiological studies, that whole grains may be beneficial in weight regulation, possibly due to effects on satiety, there is limited direct interventional evidence confirming this. The present cross-over study aimed to investigate the short-term effects on appetite and food intake of 48 g of whole-grain wheat (daily for 3 weeks) compared with refined grain (control). A total of fourteen healthy normal-weight adults consumed, within their habitual diets, either two whole-grain bread rolls (providing 48 g of whole grains over two rolls) or two control rolls daily for 3 weeks. Changes in food intake were assessed using 7 d diet diaries. Changes in subjective appetite ratings and food intake were also assessed at postprandial study visits. There were no significant differences between interventions in energy intake (assessed by the 7 d diet diaries and at the ad libitum test meal), subjective appetite ratings or anthropometric measurements. However, there was a significant difference between interventions for systolic blood pressure, which decreased during the whole-grain intervention and increased during the control intervention (-2 v. 4 mmHg; P = 0·015). The present study found no effect of whole grains on appetite or food intake in healthy individuals; however, 48 g of whole grain consumed daily for 3 weeks did have a beneficial effect on systolic blood pressure. The findings from the present study therefore do not support epidemiological evidence that whole grains are beneficial in weight regulation, although further investigation in other population groups (such as overweight and obese) would be required.