Beverages, Satiation, Satiety, and Energy Balance

Abstract

The high medical, social, and economic costs make reducing the number of overweight or obese individuals a leading public health goal throughout the world. To better understand how the obesity epidemic arose and to aid the development of new strategies to curb the obesity epidemic, there has been an increased focus on understanding how food characteristics influence energy balance. A better understanding of this relationship would be useful to (a) improve effective weight management strategies, (b) assist the food industry in food product reformulations that aid weight management, and (c) guide government policy relating to the food industry. One salient food characteristic that has recently come under considerable scrutiny is its physical form (liquid or solid). The reason for this interest is that the putative weak satiation/satiating properties of energy-yielding beverages are a potential contributor to the obesity epidemic.