Fuller for Longer for health

Published on 5 July 2011 in Food, health and wellbeing

Key Challenges

A major goal in the battle with obesity in the general population is to develop strategies that produce a sustainable weight loss with a dietary and/or behavioural intervention. Increasing attention is being focused on diet composition as a way of achieving both weight control and improved metabolic health outcomes.

Key Benefits

Awareness of the obesity epidemic in Scotland and the associated co-morbidities of type II diabetes and cardiovascular disorders has focused attention on developing novel effective strategies to reduce caloric intake.
One of the main reasons dieters fail to succeed is because they feel hungry. Diet composition strongly affects energy intake, and human studies highlight protein as a more satiating macronutrient than either carbohydrate or fat. This means that it promotes a feeling of fullness. This has led to development of a number of weight-reducing diets based on high protein intakes with satiety reached and hunger satisfied at caloric intakes below normal daily energy expenditure requirements, leading to weight loss.

Research at the Rowett Institute showed the efficacy of high protein and mixed carbohydrate diets in sustained weight loss. High level scientific support was provided to Marks and Spencer plc to help them develop a new product range.

Research at the Rowett Institute showed the efficacy of high protein and mixed carbohydrate diets in sustained weight loss, and high level scientific support was provided to Marks and Spencer plc to help them develop the new product range and to support marketing and media requirements.  Since its launch in January 2010 the Simply Fuller Longer range of calorie-counted meals and snacks quickly became an established brand available throughout the UK.
The efficacy of the protein enriched Simply Fuller Longer™ (SFL) range of calorie counted weight loss meals was tested in overweight and obese men and women.

We recruited 45 subjects and completed 42 (22 F + 20 M) in a 4 week diet trial. Subjects (average age 46.5 with an average  BMI 33.7 kg/m2) attended the Human Nutrition Unit at the Rowett Institute on a twice-weekly basis, to collect food and for recording of body weight. 

Over the 4 weeks, average weight loss was statistically significant at 4.73 kg, with body weight reducing from 95.99 to 91.27 kg, equating to a clinically significant 5.2% reduction in body weight. As a result of the weight loss, there were significant improvements in body composition, blood pressure, and bio-markers of health, including a reduction cholesterol and glucose.

These data suggest that the SFL range of calorie counted meals is effective in promoting weight loss and reducing hunger, at least in the short term.

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