Search Results (11)

Background: Epidemiological studies on the effect of coffee intake on food consumption have yielded conflicting results. We sought to study the immediate and short-term effects of coffee consumption on food preferences, total calories, and macronutrient consumption within a specific, closely supervised experimental protocol. Methods: Twenty-one normal-weight volunteers completed this crossover, randomized, controlled study. Each volunteer took part in two trials consuming (a) 200 mL of instant coffee providing 5 mg of caffeine/kg body weight or (b) 200 mL of water (control). In both trials, participants were offered an ad libitum lunch meal from a buffet for 30 min. Proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates, as well as total caloric consumption were recorded during the initial 30 min period of the experiment (immediate period) as well as during the rest of the day (short-term period). Results: Coffee intake resulted in a statistically significant lower intake of immediate and short-term carbohydrate consumption (p = 0.012 and p = 0.047), of immediate protein consumption (p = 0.019), and of short-term lipid consumption (p = 0.04) versus water consumption. As a result, the calories consumed both immediately upon coffee administration and during the rest of the day of the experiment were significantly lower (p = 0.026 and p = 0.006) in the coffee group. Conclusions: Coffee intake seems to exert an anorexigenic result that last for several hours upon its consumption, particularly for carbohydrates and lipids. Full article

Background: Though evidence is limited, animal products like pork sausages and cheese may affect satiety differently due to their distinct protein, fat, and calcium content. This study therefore compared their acute effects on breakfast using appetite-related markers. Methods: A total of 11 women and 13 men, with a mean age of 23.0 ± 2.6 years and mean BMI of 24.5 ± 2.6 kg/m², participated in this crossover design study. Concentrations of active ghrelin, glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), cholecystokinin (CCK), insulin, glucose, leptin, and blood lipids were measured. Subjective feelings of appetite using visual analogue scales were analyzed (0–4 h) as a response to two test breakfasts meals with a similar energy and macronutrient content. Appetite feelings and energy intake from an ad libitum buffet lunch were subsequently measured. Data were analyzed using two different ANOVA methods. Results: The pork sausage breakfast was characterized by an earlier triglyceride (TG) peak than the cheese. A slower TG clearance was seen with the cheese breakfast. Ghrelin suppression was longer in the pork sausage breakfast. Active GLP-1 concentration was higher following the cheese breakfast and active GIP declined slower. The two ANOVA methods disagreed regarding the insulin effect. Subjective feelings of hunger before buffet and ad libitum energy intake were higher in males (791 ± 64 kcal) compared with females (344 ± 32 kcal), but did not differ between breakfast types. Conclusions: Acute consumption of pork and cheese of the same energy, fat, and protein content provided detectable differences in appetite-related hormones and lipid responses. Appetite and lipid metabolism were affected by the major differentiators of the test meals, namely calcium, fatty acids and amino acids compositions. Full article

This study aimed to assess the effect of substituting plant-based mince for beef mince in a standard pasta meal on the amount consumed and on objective and subjective measures of post-prandial satiety. Healthy, adult males (n = 24) consumed a pasta lunch meal containing either plant-based or beef mince at separate visits, and the amount consumed measured at each visit. Perceptions of hunger, fullness and satisfaction were recorded and blood samples collected before and for 3 h after eating, when a buffet meal was provided. Participants consumed 586 kJ less of the pasta meal prepared with plant-based mince compared to beef mince (p < 0.05). Energy intake at the buffet meal and measures of fullness, satiety and satisfaction after the pasta meal were not different between plant and beef mince (p > 0.05). Post-prandial Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1), but not insulin or leptin concentrations, were lower after the plant-based pasta meal (p < 0.05). Our results suggest that the pasta meal containing plant-based mince was more satiating than an equivalent meal prepared with beef mince, and that this was not associated with greater energy intake at a subsequent meal occasion. Further studies that evaluate the longer-term effects of replacing meat with plant-based mince on energy intakes and explore the mechanisms underlying the lower consumption of the plant-based mince meal would be valuable. Full article

Protein is considered the most satiating macronutrient, and its effect on satiety and food intake is source-dependent. For the first time, we compared the effect of the administration of an insect or almond preload, both containing 20 g of protein, on appetite and food intake in human subjects. Participants consumed both foods and a vehicle as a liquid preload on three separate days. They were then offered a breakfast and lunch buffet meal at which food intake was measured. Visual analogue scale (VAS) questionnaires were completed following the three preloads to assess appetite and other sensations. At breakfast, reduced energy intake was observed for both preloads compared with vehicle. At lunch, food intake only differed in the insect group, which consumed more than the vehicle. Insect preload increased the total amount of protein ingested with a slight increase in total energy consumed, differently than almond, which significantly increased total protein and energy consumed. There was no correlation between indigestion-sensation ratings and food intake. Moreover, the insect preload resulted in lower sleepiness and tiredness ratings compared with the almond preload. Thus, insect-derived protein may be suitable as a safe ingredient for snacks intended for elderly or infirm patients who require increased protein intake. Full article

Background: The taste of carbohydrates may drive their intake. Sensitivity to carbohydrate taste varies among individuals, thus, it is important to understand how differences in sensitivity influence eating behaviour and body mass. Objective: The aims of this study were to assess associations among carbohydrate taste sensitivity, habitual and acute food intake, and body mass; as well as assess the reliability of the carbohydrate detection threshold (DT) test within and across days. Methods: Carbohydrate DT was assessed six times across three sessions in 36 healthy adult participants (22 female) using a three-alternate forced choice methodology. Moreover, 24 h diet records were completed on the days prior to testing sessions, and food intake at a buffet lunch was collected following each session. Anthropometry was also measured. Linear mixed regression models were fitted. Results: The DT test required at least three measures within a given day for good reliability (ICC = 0.76), but a single measure had good reliability when compared at the same time across days (ICC = 0.54–0.86). Carbohydrate DT was associated with BMI (kg/m²: β = −0.38, p = 0.014), habitual carbohydrate intake (g: β = −41.8, p = 0.003) and energy intake (kJ: β = −1068, p = 0.019) from the 24-h diet records, as well as acute intake of a buffet lunch (food weight (g): β = −76.1, p = 0.008). Conclusions: This suggests that individuals who are more sensitive to carbohydrate are more likely to consume greater quantities of carbohydrates and energy, resulting in a greater body mass. Full article

In recent years, the technology of artificial intelligence (AI) and robots is rapidly spreading to countries around the world. More and more scholars and industry experts have proposed AI deep learning models and methods to solve human life problems and improve work efficiency. Modern people’s lives are very busy, which led us to investigate whether the demand for Bento buffet cafeterias has gradually increased in Taiwan. However, when eating at a buffet in a cafeteria, people often encounter two problems. The first problem is that customers need to queue up to check out after they have selected and filled their dishes from the buffet. However, it always takes too much time waiting, especially at lunch or dinner time. The second problem is sometimes customers question the charges calculated by cafeteria staff, claiming they are too expensive at the checkout counter. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an AI-enabled checkout system. The AI-enabled self-checkout system will help the Bento buffet cafeterias reduce long lineups without the need to add additional workers. In this paper, we used computer vision and deep-learning technology to design and implement an AI-enabled checkout system for Bento buffet cafeterias. The prototype contains an angle steel shelf, a Kinect camera, a light source, and a desktop computer. Six baseline convolutional neural networks were applied for comparison on food recognition. In our experiments, there were 22 different food categories in a Bento buffet cafeteria employed. Experimental results show that the inception_v4 model can achieve the highest average validation accuracy of 99.11% on food recognition, but it requires the most training and recognition time. AlexNet model achieves a 94.5% accuracy and requires the least training time and recognition time. We propose a hierarchical approach with two stages to achieve good performance in both the recognition accuracy rate and the required training and recognition time. The approach is designed to perform the first step of identification and the second step of recognizing similar food images, respectively. Experimental results show that the proposed approach can achieve a 96.3% accuracy rate on our test dataset and required very little recognition time for input images. In addition, food volumes could be estimated using the depth images captured by the Kinect camera, and a framework of visual checkout system was successfully built. Full article

The food experience is multisensory and multisensory external stimuli may affect food choice and emotions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a multisensory eating environment on food choice, intake and the emotional states of the subjects in a salad lunch buffet setting. A total of 30 female subjects consumed a salad lunch twice in the multisensory laboratory. The two test conditions (control and multisensory condition with environmental stimuli) were randomized and the visits were scheduled one week apart. Subjects selected and ate a meal from a salad buffet including 14 food items and the intake of each item was weighed. They answered an online questionnaire about the meal and their emotional states (20 different emotion terms) after the lunch. There was no significant difference in the food consumption between the control and multisensory conditions. The subjects were very satisfied with their lunch for both study visits but the pleasantness of the eating environment was rated higher under the multisensory condition. In emotional terms, the subjects selected the term “happy” significantly more frequently under the multisensory condition compared with the control. In conclusion, the multisensory eating environment in this study was not related to food intake but may be associated with positive emotions. The effect of the eating environment on food choice and experience deserves further study with a larger study population in a real lunch restaurant setting. Full article

Change that benefits individuals and organisations while delivering health outcomes and benefits society requires a research focus that extends ‘beyond the individual’ to environment shapers. A pre-post observational study assessed two food provision structural changes to understand the role food service environments had on food selections. Diners were observed prior to (lunch n = 1294; dinner n = 787) and following (lunch n = 1230; dinner n = 843) structural changes in a buffet-style dining room—including provision of a healthy convenient meal alternative for lunch (healthy lunch bag), and a pleasurable dinner (make-your-own pizza). Food choices shifted with 19% of diners opting for a healthy lunch bag and 29% of diners selecting a pizza dinner, moving away from the existing buffet. Examination of selections by those continuing to select from the concurrent buffet selections established that the availability of healthy alternatives in the buffet partially explained food choices, moderating any observed changes in food selections. The food service sector is a promising avenue through which dietary behaviours can be improved. Further studies, particularly those that measure selections over the longer term, and that include measures of satisfaction and profit, are needed. Full article

The study investigated the acute effects of meals containing either salmon or veal in combination with carbohydrates with high or low glycemic index (GI) on diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT) (primary endpoint), appetite sensations, and energy intake (EI). Twenty-five overweight men and women ingested four iso-caloric test meals: salmon with mashed potatoes (high GI) (SM), salmon with wholegrain pasta (low GI) (SP), veal with mashed potatoes (VM) and veal with wholegrain pasta (VP). Energy expenditure was measured in the fasting state and six times postprandially for 25 min with 5-min breaks between each measurement. Appetite sensations were measured every 30 min. Blood samples, from arterialized venous blood, were drawn every 20 min until an ad libitum buffet-style lunch was served 3.5 h later. DIT was 40% higher after the SM meal compared to the SP meal (p = 0.002). Prospective food consumption was lower after the SM meal compared with the VP meal (p = 0.01). There were no differences in satiety, hunger, fullness, or ad libitum EI between the test meals (all p > 0.05). In conclusion, salmon with high GI carbohydrates increased DIT compared to salmon with low GI carbohydrates. This indicates that DIT is sensitive to the GI of the carbohydrates after intake of salmon but not veal. Full article

The aim of this study was to determine the environmental impact, nutrient intake, appreciation and tastiness of three buffet-style lunches served at the workplace, consisting of (1) animal-based foods; (2) plant-based foods; and (3) both animal-based and plant-based foods. Employees of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands participated in the study. Participants scored the lunch for appreciation and tastiness (scores from 1 to 10). Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and land use associated with foods consumed were calculated using life cycle assessments. Nutrient intake was calculated using food composition data. The results show that both the plant-based and the combination lunch received higher scores for tastiness than the animal-based lunch. GHG emissions and land use were lowest for the plant-based lunch and highest for the animal-based lunch. The combination lunch was associated with increased fiber and decreased saturated fat intake compared to the animal-based lunch, but also lead to increased energy intake. The plant-based lunch did not increase energy intake, while increasing fiber intake and decreasing sodium (salt) and saturated fat intakes. These initial results show that plant-based lunches have the potential to improve nutrient intake and tastiness while reducing environmental impact. Additional research in this field is worthwhile. Full article

School plate waste is of particular concern worldwide due to its adverse impacts not only on resource use and the environment, but also on students’ health, physical maturation, and academic achievement in the long term. Previous studies on school plate waste have all been conducted in industrialized countries, and more studies are badly needed in developing countries. In this paper, we report a pilot study on the patterns and causes of plate waste in school lunch programs in Beijing, China, by a combination of physical weighing, questionnaire survey, and semi-structured interview approaches. Our results show that the average amount of food waste generated by school students in Beijing in 2014 was 130 g/cap/meal, accounting for 21% of total food served. Staple food (43%) and vegetables (42%) were the dominant proportions. Buffet meals resulted in less plate waste than packed meals and set meals. Food supply patterns, the quality of canteen service, and the dietary habit and students’ knowledge of food production were the main influencing factors behind plate waste. To our best knowledge, our pilot study provides a first understanding of the overlooked plate waste in school lunch programs in China, and a good basis for further analysis in this field, and will be helpful in informing policy-making in relevant nutrition and education programs in schools in China. Full article