Summary of Investigating the Impact of “Hyper-Palatable” Foods Across Four Diets:
Researchers from the University of Kansas and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) studied data from previous studies to identify key meal characteristics that influence the number of calories consumed. They found that three meal characteristics consistently led to higher calorie intake across four different dietary patterns: meal energy density (calories per gram of food), the presence of “hyper-palatable” foods, and the speed at which the meals were consumed. Protein content of the meals also had an impact on calorie intake, but its effect was more variable. The findings suggest that people should be aware of the hyper-palatable characteristics of certain foods, as they can lead to an increased calorie intake and, potentially, to weight gain.
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Hyper-Palatable Foods: What You Need to Know to Manage Your Weight
As the new year begins, many people are looking for ways to manage their weight. If you’re among them, findings by researchers from the University of Kansas and the National Institutes of Health may provide guidance about the food you put on your plate.
By analyzing data from previous studies, researchers sought to identify key meal characteristics that influenced the number of calories consumed. The results showed that three particular characteristics consistently led to higher calorie intake across four different dietary patterns: meal energy density (i.e., calories per gram of food), the presence of “hyper-palatable” foods, and the speed at which the meals were consumed. While the protein content of the meals also had an impact on calorie intake, its effect was found to be more variable.
What Are Hyper-Palatable Foods?
First described by KU scientist Tera Fazzino in 2019, hyper-palatable foods have specific combinations of fat, sugar sodium, and carbohydrates—think of potato chips—that make them artificially rewarding to eat and harder to stop consuming.
“We wanted to know how hyper-palatable characteristics of foods, in combination with other factors, influenced how many calories a person consumed in a meal,” said Fazzino, who is associate director of the Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment at the KU Life Span Institute, and assistant professor in the KU Department of Psychology.
How Do Hyper-Palatable Foods Affect Calorie Intake?
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. People are often advised to avoid energy-dense foods, such as cookies or cheese, that can lead to passive overeating. Instead, foods low in energy density — like spinach, carrots, and apples — are often advised. But foods characterized as hyper-palatable may be less familiar to people, and they may be unknowingly adding them to their plate.
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.
What Can We Do About Hyper-Palatable Foods?
“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.
Reference: “Ad libitum meal energy intake is positively influenced by energy density, eating rate and hyper-palatable food across four dietary patterns” by Tera L. Fazzino, Amber B. Courville, Juen Guo and Kevin D. Hall, 30 January 2023, Nature Food. DOI: 10.1038/s43016-022-00688-4
Conclusion
Fazzino co-authored the findings in Nature Food with researchers Kevin Hall, Amber Courville and Jen Guo of the Who funds National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).
Hyper-palatable foods have specific combinations of fat, sugar sodium, and carbohydrates that make them artificially rewarding to eat and harder to stop consuming. The findings show that these hyper-palatable foods independently contribute to meal calorie intake and should be taken into consideration when making dietary choices. The research adds to a growing body of evidence that hyper-palatability plays a role in the food choices that people make and in their weight.
