Digestion of Foods Consumed in Africa
Condition: Obesity and Other Hyperalimentation
MeSH terms: Hyperphagia
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      As populations become urbanized in Africa, the change to a more Westernized diet has been
      associated with rise in obesity and related metabolic syndrome diseases. The current study
      shows that in the West African Sahel, these replacement starchy staple foods have fast
      gastric emptying compared to traditional sorghum and millet foods; and implies that the
      latter could be beneficial in lowering glycemic response, providing energy from a meal over a
      longer time, and providing a satiety effect. Knowledge of this attribute of sorghum and
      millet foods could be useful to improve their image in West African cities to increase their
      consumption and to improve markets for local smallholder farmers.
    

Detailed description: 
      As suggested by anecdotal evidence that traditional Malian sorghum and millet foods are
      filling and provide sustained energy, we hypothesized that gastric emptying rates of sorghum
      and millet foods are slow, particularly compared to non-traditional starchy foods (white
      rice, potato, wheat pasta) that are now commonly consumed in urban areas of the West African
      Sahel. A broader purpose for the study was to understand whether sorghum and millet foods
      have positive health attributes that can be promoted in urban areas to provide better markets
      for local farmers.

      Two human trials of similar design were conducted approximately one year apart. The carbon 13
      (13C)-labelled octanoic acid breath test method was used to measure gastric emptying rate,
      and subjective pre-test and satiety response questionnaires were used. In the first study, 14
      healthy volunteers in Bamako, Mali participated in a crossover design to test eight starchy
      foods for gastric emptying rate and satiety feelings. The second study with six volunteers
      was done to correct for endogenous 13C differences in the starch component of the foods.
    

Intervention name(s): Rice; Potato; Pasta; Sorghum thick porridge; Millet thick porridge; Millet couscous; Millet thin porridge; Millet thin monikuru porridge
Intervention type(s): Other; Other; Other; Other; Other; Other; Other; Other
Intervention description(s): Different modern and traditional starch-based foods found in Bamako, Mali were tested for differences in gastric emptying rate and appetitive response.; Different modern and traditional starch-based foods found in Bamako, Mali were tested for differences in gastric emptying rate and appetitive response .; Different modern and traditional starch-based foods found in Bamako, Mali were tested for differences in gastric emptying rate and appetitive response.; Different modern and traditional starch-based foods found in Bamako, Mali were tested for differences in gastric emptying rate and appetitive response.; Different modern and traditional starch-based foods found in Bamako, Mali were tested for differences in gastric emptying rate and appetitive response.; Different modern and traditional starch-based foods found in Bamako, Mali were tested for differences in gastric emptying rate and appetitive response.; Different modern and traditional starch-based foods found in Bamako, Mali were tested for differences in gastric emptying rate and appetitive response.; Different modern and traditional starch-based foods found in Bamako, Mali were tested for differences in gastric emptying rate and appetitive response.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Crossover Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)