Exploring food texture as a tool to fight obesity

Crunch. Squish. Snap. Slurp. 

The textures and aromas of our foods trigger reactions in our brains that control how full we feel. 

As scientists continue to learn just how, some are seeking to figure out if food textures also play a role in how much we eat. There might be a reason, beyond taste, to explain why a person is inclined to inhale an entire bag of potato chips, or devour a whole plate of cookies. Even more important, the knowledge could be put to good use.

To better understand how a crunchy sensation affects how we eat, a team of researchers from the University of Otago and the Riddet Institute in New Zealand decided to focus their work on potato chips using their TA.XTplus Texture Analyser. Their findings were published in the journal Foods recently.

The work might seem trivial, but behind the science are much bigger questions about how to best combat certain health issues. The World Health Organization says globally obesity has nearly tripled since 1975. In 2016, it estimated that more than 1.9 billion adults were overweight, with more than 650 million of them regarded as obese.

Previous research has shown that a person’s sensory experience – such as taste and smell – while eating food can play an important role in how full they feel. In 2009, researchers at Wageningen University found that viscous yoghurt was perceived as more satiating than its thinner counterpart. 

Another study, published in 2007, found the same result when comparing chocolate milk to chocolate custard. And yet another study by a team of researchers at Nestlé, published in 2013, found that some people ate more when they were given soft-textured mashed food than with harder-textured food. 

Find out what this research discovered...

A new meta-analysis emphasises the need for the next generation of “health conscious” products to focus on food texture to enhance the feeling of being full. Food texture is often an underestimated element in food design and processing. Now, a team of interdisciplinary researchers at University of Leeds funded by Horizon 2020 European Research Council (ERC) Project LubSat have undertaken the first systematic review and meta-analyses on effects of food texture – its form, viscosity, structural complexity – on satiety, which refers to the feeling of being “fuller for longer”.

Their findings, published in Scientific Reports, reveals that both solid and higher viscous food significantly reduce hunger and promote satiety when compared to liquid and low viscous food. This study highlights that a focus on food texture and the development of satiety-enhancing food can be a promising strategy to reduce food intake and encourage weight management. 

Principal Investigator and corresponding author Dr Anwesha Sarkar, an Associate Professor in Food Colloids at Leeds, said: “There is a significant need for more research in this field. Addressing food texture alone is not the ‘holy grail’ in tackling the world's obesity problem, but it can definitely make a positive contribution overall and will have a potentially large effect on weight management for some people.”  

Read the full paper: Food texture influences on satiety: Systematic review and meta-analysis

There is a Texture Analysis test for virtually any physical property. Contact Stable Micro Systems today to learn more about our full range of solutions.

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For more information on how to measure texture, please visit the Texture Analysis Properties section on our website.

The TA.XTplus texture analyser is part of a family of texture analysis instruments and equipment from Stable Micro Systems. An extensive portfolio of specialist attachments is available to measure and analyse the textural properties of a huge range of food products. Our technical experts can also custom design instrument fixtures according to individual specifications.

No-one understands texture analysis like we do!

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