Effects of Pecan Nut Snacks v Equicaloric Snacks on Appetite, Food Intake, Metabolism, Hormones and Biomarkers
Condition: Overweight and Obesity
MeSH terms: Obesity; Overweight
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      This is a within-subjects crossover study that examines subjective appetite, food intake,
      hormone and metabolic responses to consumption of mid morning snacks of pecan nuts as
      compared to an iso-caloric amount of tortilla chips. Pecans are high in fat and calories and
      low in carbohydrate by weight, while tortilla chips are mostly carbohydrate and essentially
      devoid of fat. These two very different nutrient profiles should elicit different metabolic
      and biomarker responses. The study aims to determine whether these treatments also elicit
      different subjective appetite and food intake responses. Participants will be healthy
      volunteers with overweight and obesity, a population that may be seeking healthy snacking
      options that are satisfying and satiating.
    

Detailed description: 
      This is a randomized, two condition, crossover study in healthy individuals with overweight
      and obesity examining the effect of a mid-morning snack of pecans vs. a low fat savory snack
      on appetite, energy expenditure, blood biomarkers of appetite and metabolism and ad libitum
      food intake at lunch. Twenty-four participants will be enrolled and studied on two test days
      with at least one week washout in between. On test days, participants will have baseline
      measures of appetite (by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)), blood hormones and substrates, and
      energy expenditure and fuel oxidation (Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR), by indirect calorimetry)
      taken just prior to consuming a standardized 300 kcal breakfast. VAS measures will be taken
      at 20, 30, 60, 90 and 120 min following the meal and RMR will be measured for 20 min after
      eating. A mid-morning snack of either 250 kcal of pecans or lightly salted tortilla chips
      will be consumed and VAS and blood measures will be taken at 20, 30, 60, 90 and 120 min
      following the snack and RMR will be measured for 20 min after eating. Participants will be
      given an ad libitum lunch meal and VAS and blood measures will be taken at 20, 30, 60, 90 and
      120 min following the lunch and RMR will be measured for 20 min after eating. Blood will be
      analyzed for glucose, insulin, free fatty acids, triglycerides, ghrelin, leptin, PYY, and
      GLP-1. Two hypotheses will be examined: 1. pecans will provoke greater feelings of fullness
      and reduced hunger after the snack and lunch meal consumption (on either a calorie per
      calorie or volume basis) as compared to the tortilla chip snack, and 2. the pecan snack will
      provoke greater responses of satiety hormones compared to tortilla chips. Post-snack and
      lunch energy expenditure and fat oxidation will also be compared between treatments as an
      exploratory aim.
    

Intervention name(s): Pecan snack; Tortilla chip snack
Intervention type(s): Other; Other
Intervention description(s): Under this condition, each participant will consume a mid morning snack of pecans followed by an ad libitum lunch.; Under this condition, each participant will consume a mid morning snack consisting of an iso-caloric (equal to the pecan snack) snack of tortilla chips followed by an ad libitum lunch.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Crossover Assignment
Intervention model description: Randomized, two period crossover with two treatment conditions
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Basic Science
Keywords: Pecans; appetite; hormones; food intake