Clinical Research Directory

Time Restricted Eating and Meal Frequency for Appetite Control

Obesity is one of the largest worldwide health problems. There are increasing rates of overweight and obesity, and in recent years, worldwide the percentage of overweight and obesity among adults now exceeds 1.9 billion and 650 million, respectively. Overweight and obesity are associated with an increase risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D), coronary heart disease, hypertension and other non-communicable diseases. There are multiple nutritional causes for obesity, including both the type and amount of food consumed. Other non-nutritional factors can be just as important to influence body mass, such as the number of meals eaten, which is termed meal frequency. The changing food environment influences calorie consumption, such as increased food variety, increased availability and food processing, a nocturnal lifestyle that disrupts the circadian clock, meal timing and frequency, irregular meal patterns, and prolonged duration of eating during the day. This results in increased food and beverage consumption throughout the day. Meal frequency is commonly defined as, 'the number of foods or drinks a person consumes in one day. Meals and snacks are less clearly defined. Meal is defined as any food providing≥ 50 kcal and separated by more than one hour. In most cultures, the name meal is given to the three eating episodes in a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner; or breakfast, brunch, lunch, supper, and dinner. In this study, the investigators will use the definition of "breakfast, brunch, lunch, supper, and dinner", but it will be on restricted time: 10 hours eating and 14 hours fasting (from 7:00 to 17:00) and one type of diet (high protein diet). Other researchers have defined meals by the time of the day, such as early and late breakfast, lunch and dinner intake. These definitions differ according to culture. Other researchers have defined meals based on timing, such as (6:00 am -10:00 am), (12:00 pm - 3:00 pm), and (6:00 pm - 9:00 pm). Some studies have highlighted that there are factors that affect the number of meals which a person consumes. Eating a high amount of energy during breakfast helps to feel full for a longer period. Time of eating and duration of eating or not eating. The type of macronutrient intake; for example, high protein (HP) intake reduces ad libitum energy intake. The number of meals eaten per day; some studies have confirmed that consuming small frequent meals is better for healthy weight and appetite control in the general population, compared to consuming one huge meal a day. This can assist control of appetite and plasma glucose concentrations. On the other hand, recent research has indicated that consuming (≥6 meals/day) increases disease risk significantly more than consuming (1-2 meals/day). Some researchers believe that there is no relationship between meal frequency and body weight.

Establishing the Glycaemic Index of Vegetable Smoothies

Glycaemic responses to carbohydrates ingested as fruit and vegetables may vary depending on factors inherent to the fruit or vegetable, and on the type of sugar. The aim of this project is to investigate the glycaemic responses to two new fruit and vegetable smoothies, and to establish the glycaemic index for each product relative to a glucose reference. Participants will undertake 4 postprandial tests with 2 different test drinks following best practice guidelines for glycaemic index testing. The test drinks (GREEN and RED) will be matched for carbohydrate to the glucose reference (CONTROL) which will be sampled two times. Fingerstick capillary blood sampling will measure glucose concentrations. These data will provide insight into how differing formulations can alter the glycaemic responses to fruit and vegetable drinks.

Glycaemic Response of Arabic Bread

Bread remains one of the most widely consumed staple foods worldwide, with wheat flour serving as its traditional foundation. However, the widespread dependence on refined wheat-based bread has paralleled the rising prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D), partly owing to its high glycaemic index (GI), which results in rapid increases in blood glucose levels. Enhancing the nutritional quality of bread, therefore, represents an important target for dietary intervention. Developing alternative flour blends for bread production presents a potential strategy for improving glycaemic control and supporting glucose homeostasis. Accordingly, this clinical trial aims to determine whether the partial replacement of wheat flour with legume flours, including chickpea, pea, and lentil, in Arabic bread formulations can lower glycaemic responses compared with traditional Arabic wheat bread.

Influence of Tea Consumption on Human Glycemic Response

The specific aim of this study is to evaluate the postprandial metabolic responses of individuals to tea varieties when consumed individually or together with a standardized meal.

Investigating the Glycaemic and Satiating Capacity of PulseOn® Enriched Foods

The purpose of this randomised control trial is to determine whether consuming PulseOn enriched crackers for breakfast influences post-prandial glycaemic response and markers of appetite (hunger, fullness, desire to eat) over 4 hours, and energy intake at an ad libitum lunch meal on the same day. Healthy individuals with no underlying metabolic disease will be recruited to take part in this study.