Effects of Fresh Watermelon Consumption on the Acute Satiety Response and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Overweight and Obese Adults

Tiffany Lum, Megan Connolly, Amanda Marx, Joshua Beidler, Shirin Hooshmand, Mark Kern, Changqi Liu, Mee Young Hong, Tiffany Lum, Megan Connolly, Amanda Marx, Joshua Beidler, Shirin Hooshmand, Mark Kern, Changqi Liu, Mee Young Hong

Abstract

Although some studies have demonstrated the beneficial effects of watermelon supplementation on metabolic diseases, no study has explored the potential mechanism by which watermelon consumption improves body weight management. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of fresh watermelon consumption on satiety, postprandial glucose and insulin response, and adiposity and body weight change after 4 weeks of intervention in overweight and obese adults. In a crossover design, 33 overweight or obese subjects consumed watermelon (2 cups) or isocaloric low-fat cookies daily for 4 weeks. Relative to cookies, watermelon elicited more (p < 0.05) robust satiety responses (lower hunger, prospective food consumption and desire to eat and greater fullness). Watermelon consumption significantly decreased body weight, body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure and waist-to-hip ratio (p ≤ 0.05). Cookie consumption significantly increased blood pressure and body fat (p < 0.05). Oxidative stress was lower at four week of watermelon intervention compared to cookie intervention (p = 0.034). Total antioxidant capacity increased with watermelon consumption (p = 0.003) in blood. This study shows that reductions in body weight, body mass index (BMI), and blood pressure can be achieved through daily consumption of watermelon, which also improves some factors associated with overweight and obesity (clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03380221).

Keywords: antioxidant; human; oxidative stress; satiety; watermelon.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effects of watermelon (WM) and low-fat cookies (LFC) on (a) hunger, (b) fullness, (c) desire to eat, (d) prospective food consumption, and (e) thirst. *: different between WM and LFC; +: different from baseline. VAS: visual analogue scale.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a) Effects of WM and LFC on postprandial glucose. No significant differences in blood glucose were observed between snacks and between pre-consumption (pre) and 1-h postconsumption (post). (b) Effects of WM and LFC on postprandial insulin. Blood insulin significantly increased (p < 0.05) in both snacks 1-h postconsumption compared with baseline. Data are presented as means ± SD. Within a variable, values not sharing common superscript are significantly different at p < 0.05.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effects of WM and LFC on serum concentrations of triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) at baseline and week 4 of each intervention. Data are presented as means ± SD. Within a variable, values not sharing a common superscript are significantly different at p < 0.05.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effects of WM and LFC on serum values for (a) thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and (b) total antioxidant capacity (TAC) at baseline and week 4 of each intervention. Data are presented as means ± SD. Within a variable, values not sharing a common superscript are significantly different at p < 0.05.

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