1. It has been suggested that fibre-rich foods facilitate body weight control due to fibre’s satiating effect due to its relatively low energy density, its ability to increase the viscosity of the diet and thereby slow digestion and the ability to provide a mechanical barrier to enzymatic digestion of other nutrients such as carbohydrate and fat.
  2. In the Nurses’ health study, women with a higher increase in dietary fibre gained more body weight over 12 years than those with a lower increase in dietary fibre.
  3. According to Du et al. (2010) the physiologic effects of fibre depend on several factors, including the origin and source of fibre.
  4. Du et al. (2010) showed that participants in the higher quintile of cereal fibre intake had lower total fibre intake and lower fruit and vegetable fibre intake.
  5. After adjustment for potential confounders, Du et al. (2010) found that total dietary fibre intake was inversely associated with annual weight change, observed by the effects of 6 study centres combined: 10 gram/day total dietary fibre intake was associated with an annual weight change of -39 grams/year (95% CI: -71, -7grams/year).
  6. According to Du et al. (2010), total dietary fibre intake was positively associated with waist circumference change, observed in of all study centres: 10 gram/day total dietary fibre intake was associated with an annual waist circumference change of +0.08 cm/year grams/year (95% CI: -0.11, -0.05 centimetres/year).
  7. Short chain fatty acids could stimulate satiety and improve insulin sensitivity and thus have a beneficial role in regulating body weight.
  8. Fibre from potatoes, nuts and legumes was significantly associated with subsequent changes in weight and waist circumference (P>0.05), as reported by Du et al. (2010).
  9. A key strength of the study conducted by Du et al. (2010) was the large sample size and large variation in fibre intake among participants from 5 different European countries.
  10. Although the effect was small when judged on an individual level, the effect of fibre on weight change observed by Du et al. (2010) may be of public health relevance and distinguishing the effects of fibre from different sources on weight and waist circumference gain may be important for public health guidelines.
  11. The findings of the research conducted by Du et al. (2010) supported the suggestion that intake of fibre, especially cereal fibre, is beneficial for preventing (abdominal) obesity.