The Impact of Food Texture on Calorie Intake: Insights from Wageningen University Studies

For almost 15 years, Wageningen University has been studying the relationship between the texture of our food and how much of it we eat. In 2009, WUR appointed Kees de Graaf as professor of Sensory and Eating Behavior. “Pure, unprocessed, without additives, fresh – words that describe for various people what good food is. And not to forget: no or less sweet. But I think these things are small beer compared to the important, major risks that your health “The main reason for obesity is eating energy-rich food too quickly,” said De Graaf parting in 2022.

And that is exactly what his successor, Ciarán Forde, set out to do. In the new study, published in the American Journal of Nutrition, 50 subjects were each served 4 comparable lunches. They contained the same number of calories and were equally judged on how good they tasted. Two lunches consisted of ultra-processed foods, two were minimally processed (according to the NOVA classification). In each of the two categories, one meal was harder and crunchier, and the other was softer. Think of boiled rice, a crispy raw vegetable salad, a crispy fried whole chicken breast or a hard apple (all hard and crunchy) versus mashed potatoes, coleslaw, fish nuggets and canned mangoes (all soft).

The texture and chewiness of the lunches appeared to determine eating speed and, as a result, calorie intake also decreased. The subjects ate the ‘harder’ lunches at half the usual speed. The lowest average calorie intake, 483 calories, occurred with the harder-to-chew, minimally processed lunch. The highest intake, on average 790 calories, occurred with the soft, ultra-processed lunch.

According to the Wageningen researchers, this proves that not only the degree of food processing, but also the texture of meals can have a significant influence on calorie intake. Eating harder can reduce calorie intake by up to 26% compared to softer alternatives. Eating slowly gives the body a better chance to register the amount of food consumed, leading to a feeling of satiety and less overconsumption.

Exactly what Kees de Graaf said: “Apples and spinach do not make you fat, because they do not contain much energy per gram and you eat them slowly. The foods that have the most effect on your weight are the bite-swallow-away products such as sugary drinks and sausage rolls, for example. Easy to eat, high in calories. Plus, because they are in your mouth for such a short time, no signals of satiety are passed on to your brain.”

It has recently become unclear whether that theory is entirely correct. What is clear is that Guido Camps from Wageningen University proved years ago that you lose weight from eating food that you have to chew.

Finally that wisdom is making its way into the British popular press.

2023-12-04 20:03:45
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