NEW STUDY REVEALS IMPACT OF HYPER-PALATABLE FOODS

Findings from scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the University of Kansas may provide more exact recommendations regarding the food you should eat if you want to lose weight.

Researchers discovered that three meal elements-meal energy density, the quantity of "hyper-palatable" foods, and how rapidly the meals were consumed- consistently contributed to higher calorie intake across four different dietary patterns. The meals' protein composition also contributed to calorie consumption, but its impact was less consistent.

First described by KU scientist Tera Fazzino in 2019, hyper-palatable foods have specific combinations of fat, sugar sodium, and carbohydrates (for example- potato chips) that make them artificially rewarding to eat and harder to stop consuming.

Fazzino, together with researchers from the NIH's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, wrote in the journal Nature Food that hyper-palatability increased the amount of energy consumed across four diet patterns: low-carbohydrate, low-fat, a diet based on unprocessed foods and one based on ultra-processed foods.

Diet recommendations for weight management could be informed by understanding how some foods result in people eating fewer calories without making them hungry. Energy-dense foods that can cause passive overeating, like cheese or cookies, are frequently advised to be avoided by consumers. Instead, low-energy-density foods, such as spinach, carrots, and apples, are commonly suggested. Hyper-palatable foods, however, may be lesser known to people and end up on their plates unknowingly.

While hyper-palatable foods are sometimes also energy dense, the new study suggests that these hyper-palatable foods independently contribute to meal calorie intake. Fazzino said the findings add to a growing body of research that shows that hyper-palatability plays a role in the food choices that people make and in their weight.

"We hope to get the information about hyper-palatable foods out there for individuals to consider as they make dietary choices, and we hope that scientists continue to examine hyper-palatable characteristics as a potential factor influencing energy intake," she said.