Eating Disinhibition and Vagal Tone and the Postprandial Response to Glycaemic Load

Eating Disinhibition and Vagal Tone Moderate the Postprandial Response to Glycaemic Load: A Randomised Controlled Trial

Reducing the glycaemic load (GL) of the diet may benefit appetite control but its utility is complicated by psychological influences on eating. Disinhibited behaviour, a risk factor for overconsumption, is characterized by reduced prefrontal cortex activity, which in turn directly modulates vagal tone; a phenomenon inversely associated with blood glucose (BG) and insulin levels. This double blind randomised controlled trial explores the influence of disinhibited eating and vagal tone (heart rate variability) on the postprandial response to GL and hunger.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Hunger
• Intervention / Treatment: Dietary supplement: Glucose; Dietary supplement: Isomaltulose; Dietary supplement: Sweetened water

Detailed Description

There is growing recognition that lowering the glycaemic load of the diet might reduce a range of cardiovascular risk factors such as raised plasma triglycerides, HbA1c and C reactive protein and aid in body weight regulation. A proposed mechanism includes higher satiety and prolonged satiation by virtue of improved postprandial metabolic control, although, whether lower GL meals result in greater weight loss or increased satiety is still a matter of debate. One matter complicating the issue is that the desire to consume food may be driven by psychological factors; food reward centres in the brain may override hormonal regulation of food intake. Amongst psychological factors disinhibition has the largest and most consistent body of empirical data that associates it with weight gain although the mechanisms involved are unknown. This study will investigate whether, irrespective of BMI or habitual diet, disinhibited eaters have greater glycaemic excursions following a high glycaemic load drink and whether this predicts subsequent satiation.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 66
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • West Glamorgan
    • Swansea, West Glamorgan, United Kingdom, SA2 8PP
      • Swansea University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 30 years (ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Young healthy adults who scored either high or low on the Three factor eating questionnaire disinhibition subscale

Exclusion Criteria:

Participants were excluded if they

• had a cardiovascular or metabolic disorder
• gastrointestinal problems
• were pregnant
• had a current diagnosis of a mood or eating disorder
• and/or were taking medications or herbal supplements to manage body weight or control appetite

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: PARALLEL
• Masking: DOUBLE

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: 75g glucose; 75g of glucose dissolved in 500ml provided in a clear plastic tumbler.	Dietary supplement: Glucose; 75g Glucose (high glycaemic load intervention)
EXPERIMENTAL: 75g isomaltulose; 75g of isomaltulose dissolved in 500ml provided in a clear plastic tumbler.	Dietary supplement: Isomaltulose; 75g Isomaltulose (low glycaemic load intervention)
PLACEBO_COMPARATOR: Sweetened water; 500ml water sweetened with sucralose provided in a clear plastic tumbler.	Dietary supplement: Sweetened water; Sweetened water will be used as a control

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in blood glucose	Blood glucose was monitored from finger pricks using an ExacTech sensor (Medisense Britain Limited) that using an enzymic method, coupled with microelectronic measurement. Change in blood glucose from baseline to after 30 minutes will assess the speed of incline.	From baseline to 30 minutes
Change in blood glucose	As above to assess the speed of decline.	from 30 to 150minutes

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Hunger	Participants were asked to respond to the question "how hungry are you feeling right now" on a single 100mm visual analogue scale anchored by "Not at all" and "Extremely".	30, 150 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Swansea University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Young HA, Watkins H. Eating disinhibition and vagal tone moderate the postprandial response to glycemic load: a randomised controlled trial. Sci Rep. 2016 Oct 20;6:35740. doi: 10.1038/srep35740.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: September 1, 2015
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): December 1, 2015
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): December 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 29, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 5, 2016
• First Posted (ESTIMATE): July 11, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE): July 11, 2016
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 5, 2016
• Last Verified: July 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Blood glucose
• Other Study ID Numbers: DisGL