Food Texture Can Slow Eating, Curb Calorie Intake From UPFs

Medscape

a day ago

Food texture influences the eating rate (ER) and energy intake from ultraprocessed foods (UPFs), a small randomized, controlled trial showed.
Over a 14-day period, participants consuming a UPF diet with textures that reduced their ER had an average energy intake reduction of 369 kcal/d compared to those following a 14-day UPF diet with textures that promoted a faster ER.
'The consistency of the effect of meal texture on eating rate and intake was striking,' Ciarán G. Forde, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands, said in a press release. 'The cumulative difference in intake on average between the two diets was over 5000 kcals across the 14-day period. Almost all participants adjusted their eating behaviors in response to the meal textures served, without any guidance or instructions or the need to consciously restrict their intake or compromise on food enjoyment and satisfaction.'
The study was presented at NUTRITION 2025 in Orlando, Florida.
Meal Satisfaction Similar
For the crossover study, 41 participants (50% men; mean age, 27 years) were randomly assigned to two 14-day diets, each with over 90% energy coming from UPFs. One diet consisted of meals and snacks with textures thought to encourage a slower eating rate (Slow-ER) and one diet consisted of textures thought to promote a faster eating rate (Fast-ER).
Meals on each diet were matched for palatability, food energy density (kcal/g), portion size (grams), total energy served (kcals), and energy derived from Nova 4 (UPF) foods. On both diet arms, participants could eat as much or as little as they wanted (ad libitum) and were instructed to eat until they were comfortably full.
The two diets were separated by a 14-day washout period.
The daily energy intake was, on average, 369 kcal/d lower on the UPF Slow-ER diet than on the UPF Fast-ER diet. The effect on energy intake was consistent and sustained across individual participants and number of days on the diet.
Meals within both diets were rated to be equally liked and familiar, and despite consuming significantly fewer calories on the Slow-ER diet, participants did not report differences in appetite sensations or meal satisfaction. There was no change in body weight pre- to post-diets and no differences in body weight between the two diets.
'Food texture-derived ER has a significant and sustained effect on energy intake of ultraprocessed diets over a 2-week period,' the authors concluded. 'This finding highlights the importance of food texture in guiding eating rate and the central role of sensory cues in regulating meal size.'
Slowing Down Works
In expert commentary on the study, Amanda Avery, PhD, RD, associate professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, England, said, 'The study reinforces the importance of people sitting down and taking time to enjoy their food. Eating foods quickly and 'on the hoof' may lead to extra energy intake, which may lead to weight gain. Ideally, we should be choosing foods with more texture, such as UPFs with more texture, but also balanced with vegetables, whole fruits, whole grain cereals, beans, legumes, lean meat, fish, so we have to chew the food.'
In a separate comment, Julian Hamilton-Shield, MD, professor in Diabetes and Metabolic Endocrinology, University of Bristol, Bristol, England, said, 'This study reinforces previous epidemiological, experimental, and clinical trial data demonstrating that any maneuver to slow eating rate consistently, in this current study by meal texture, reduces an individual's total calorie intake. While it can be difficult to sustain a reduced eating speed, altering food texture [to slow] eating speed seems an attractive additional tool for population-based, weight management strategies.'
Forde did not provide information on funding or potential conflicts of interest. Avery declared consulting in Nutrition, Research and Health Policy at Slimming World. Hamilton-Shield declared conducting experimental and trial studies on slowing eating speed by a different methodology, 'finding results for calorie intake in agreement with the study being described.'