Time to revisit the passive overconsumption hypothesis?: Humans show sensitivity to calories in energy-rich meals

Annika N Flynn; Kevin D Hall; Amber B Courville; Peter J Rogers; Jeffrey M Brunstrom

doi:10.1093/ajcn/nqac112

Time to revisit the passive overconsumption hypothesis? Humans show sensitivity to calories in energy-rich meals

Annika N Flynn^*
, Kevin D Hall
, Amber B Courville
, Peter J Rogers
, Jeffrey M Brunstrom

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)

163 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

BACKGROUND: A possible driver of obesity is insensitivity (passive overconsumption) to food energy density (ED, kcal/g); however, it is unclear whether this insensitivity applies to all meals.

OBJECTIVES: We assessed the influence of ED on energy intake (kcal) across a broad and continuous range of energy densities comprised of non-covertly manipulated, real-world meals. We also allowed for the possibility that the association between energy intake and ED is non-linear.

METHODS: We completed a secondary analysis of 1,519 meals which occurred in a controlled environment as part of a study conducted by Hall and colleagues to assess the effects of food ultra-processing on energy intake. To establish the generalizability of the findings, the analyses were repeated in 32,162 meals collected from free-living humans using data from the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS). Segmented regressions were performed to establish ED 'breakpoints' at which the association between consumed meal ED and mean centered meal caloric intake (kcal) changed.

RESULTS: Significant breakpoints were found in both the Hall dataset (1.41 kcal/g), and the NDNS dataset (1.75 and 2.94 kcal/g). Centered meal caloric intake did not increase linearly with consumed meal ED, and this pattern was captured by a two-component ('volume' and 'calorie content' (biologically derived from the sensing of fat, carbohydrate, and protein)) model of physical meal size (g), in which volume is the dominant signal with lower energy-dense foods and calorie content is the dominant signal with higher energy-dense foods.

CONCLUSIONS: These analyses reveal that, on some level, humans are sensitive to the energy content of meals and adjust meal size to minimize the acute aversive effects of overconsumption. Future research should consider the relative importance of volume and calorie content signals, and how individual differences impact everyday dietary behavior and energy balance.

Original language	English
Article number	nqac112
Pages (from-to)	581-588
Number of pages	8
Journal	American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Volume	116
Issue number	2
Early online date	30 Apr 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqac112
Publication status	Published - 1 Aug 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
KDH and ABC are supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases.

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Research Groups and Themes

Nutrition and Behaviour

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21 Citations
1 Letter (Academic Journal)

Reply to Robinson et al.
Flynn, A. N., Rogers, P. J., Hall, K. D., Courville, A. B. & Brunstrom, J., 1 Mar 2023, In: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 117, 3, p. 637-638 2 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter (Academic Journal)

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2 Citations (Scopus)

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Cite this

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title = "Time to revisit the passive overconsumption hypothesis?: Humans show sensitivity to calories in energy-rich meals",

abstract = "BACKGROUND: A possible driver of obesity is insensitivity (passive overconsumption) to food energy density (ED, kcal/g); however, it is unclear whether this insensitivity applies to all meals.OBJECTIVES: We assessed the influence of ED on energy intake (kcal) across a broad and continuous range of energy densities comprised of non-covertly manipulated, real-world meals. We also allowed for the possibility that the association between energy intake and ED is non-linear.METHODS: We completed a secondary analysis of 1,519 meals which occurred in a controlled environment as part of a study conducted by Hall and colleagues to assess the effects of food ultra-processing on energy intake. To establish the generalizability of the findings, the analyses were repeated in 32,162 meals collected from free-living humans using data from the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS). Segmented regressions were performed to establish ED 'breakpoints' at which the association between consumed meal ED and mean centered meal caloric intake (kcal) changed.RESULTS: Significant breakpoints were found in both the Hall dataset (1.41 kcal/g), and the NDNS dataset (1.75 and 2.94 kcal/g). Centered meal caloric intake did not increase linearly with consumed meal ED, and this pattern was captured by a two-component ('volume' and 'calorie content' (biologically derived from the sensing of fat, carbohydrate, and protein)) model of physical meal size (g), in which volume is the dominant signal with lower energy-dense foods and calorie content is the dominant signal with higher energy-dense foods.CONCLUSIONS: These analyses reveal that, on some level, humans are sensitive to the energy content of meals and adjust meal size to minimize the acute aversive effects of overconsumption. Future research should consider the relative importance of volume and calorie content signals, and how individual differences impact everyday dietary behavior and energy balance.",

author = "Flynn, \{Annika N\} and Hall, \{Kevin D\} and Courville, \{Amber B\} and Rogers, \{Peter J\} and Brunstrom, \{Jeffrey M\}",

note = "Funding Information: KDH and ABC are supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Diabetes \& Digestive \& Kidney Diseases. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2022.",

year = "2022",

month = aug,

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doi = "10.1093/ajcn/nqac112",

language = "English",

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journal = "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition",

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T1 - Time to revisit the passive overconsumption hypothesis?

T2 - Humans show sensitivity to calories in energy-rich meals

AU - Flynn, Annika N

AU - Hall, Kevin D

AU - Courville, Amber B

AU - Rogers, Peter J

AU - Brunstrom, Jeffrey M

N1 - Funding Information: KDH and ABC are supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases. Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2022.

PY - 2022/8/1

Y1 - 2022/8/1

N2 - BACKGROUND: A possible driver of obesity is insensitivity (passive overconsumption) to food energy density (ED, kcal/g); however, it is unclear whether this insensitivity applies to all meals.OBJECTIVES: We assessed the influence of ED on energy intake (kcal) across a broad and continuous range of energy densities comprised of non-covertly manipulated, real-world meals. We also allowed for the possibility that the association between energy intake and ED is non-linear.METHODS: We completed a secondary analysis of 1,519 meals which occurred in a controlled environment as part of a study conducted by Hall and colleagues to assess the effects of food ultra-processing on energy intake. To establish the generalizability of the findings, the analyses were repeated in 32,162 meals collected from free-living humans using data from the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS). Segmented regressions were performed to establish ED 'breakpoints' at which the association between consumed meal ED and mean centered meal caloric intake (kcal) changed.RESULTS: Significant breakpoints were found in both the Hall dataset (1.41 kcal/g), and the NDNS dataset (1.75 and 2.94 kcal/g). Centered meal caloric intake did not increase linearly with consumed meal ED, and this pattern was captured by a two-component ('volume' and 'calorie content' (biologically derived from the sensing of fat, carbohydrate, and protein)) model of physical meal size (g), in which volume is the dominant signal with lower energy-dense foods and calorie content is the dominant signal with higher energy-dense foods.CONCLUSIONS: These analyses reveal that, on some level, humans are sensitive to the energy content of meals and adjust meal size to minimize the acute aversive effects of overconsumption. Future research should consider the relative importance of volume and calorie content signals, and how individual differences impact everyday dietary behavior and energy balance.

AB - BACKGROUND: A possible driver of obesity is insensitivity (passive overconsumption) to food energy density (ED, kcal/g); however, it is unclear whether this insensitivity applies to all meals.OBJECTIVES: We assessed the influence of ED on energy intake (kcal) across a broad and continuous range of energy densities comprised of non-covertly manipulated, real-world meals. We also allowed for the possibility that the association between energy intake and ED is non-linear.METHODS: We completed a secondary analysis of 1,519 meals which occurred in a controlled environment as part of a study conducted by Hall and colleagues to assess the effects of food ultra-processing on energy intake. To establish the generalizability of the findings, the analyses were repeated in 32,162 meals collected from free-living humans using data from the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS). Segmented regressions were performed to establish ED 'breakpoints' at which the association between consumed meal ED and mean centered meal caloric intake (kcal) changed.RESULTS: Significant breakpoints were found in both the Hall dataset (1.41 kcal/g), and the NDNS dataset (1.75 and 2.94 kcal/g). Centered meal caloric intake did not increase linearly with consumed meal ED, and this pattern was captured by a two-component ('volume' and 'calorie content' (biologically derived from the sensing of fat, carbohydrate, and protein)) model of physical meal size (g), in which volume is the dominant signal with lower energy-dense foods and calorie content is the dominant signal with higher energy-dense foods.CONCLUSIONS: These analyses reveal that, on some level, humans are sensitive to the energy content of meals and adjust meal size to minimize the acute aversive effects of overconsumption. Future research should consider the relative importance of volume and calorie content signals, and how individual differences impact everyday dietary behavior and energy balance.

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DO - 10.1093/ajcn/nqac112

M3 - Article (Academic Journal)

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SN - 0002-9165

VL - 116

SP - 581

EP - 588

JO - American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

JF - American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

IS - 2

M1 - nqac112

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