Successful development of satiety enhancing food products: towards a multidisciplinary agenda of research challenges

Summary

In the context of increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity in societies worldwide, enhancing the satiating capacity of foods may help people control their energy intake and weight. This requires an integrated approach between various food related disciplines. By structuring this approach around the new product development process, this paper aims to present the contours of such an integrative approach by going through the current state of the art around satiety enhancing foods. It portrays actual food choice as the end result of a complex interaction between internal satiety signals, other food benefits and environmental cues. Three interrelated routes to satiating enhancement are (1) change food composition to develop stronger physiological satiation and satiety signals, (2) anticipate and build on smart external stimuli at moment of purchase and consumption, and (3) improve palatability and acceptance of satiety enhanced foods. Key research challenges in achieving those routes in the field of nutrition, food technology, consumer, marketing and communication are outlined