While it has been proposed, based on epidemiological studies, that whole grains may be
beneficial in weight regulation, possibly due to effects on satiety, there is limited
direct interventional evidence confirming this. The present cross-over study aimed to
investigate the short-term effects on appetite and food intake of 48 g of
whole-grain wheat (daily for 3 weeks) compared with refined grain (control). A total of
fourteen healthy normal-weight adults consumed, within their habitual diets, either two
whole-grain bread rolls (providing 48 g of whole grains over two rolls) or two
control rolls daily for 3 weeks. Changes in food intake were assessed using 7 d
diet diaries. Changes in subjective appetite ratings and food intake were also assessed at
postprandial study visits. There were no significant differences between interventions in
energy intake (assessed by the 7 d diet diaries and at the ad
libitum test meal), subjective appetite ratings or anthropometric measurements.
However, there was a significant difference between interventions for systolic blood
pressure, which decreased during the whole-grain intervention and increased during the
control intervention ( − 2 v.
4 mmHg; P = 0·015). The present study
found no effect of whole grains on appetite or food intake in healthy individuals;
however, 48 g of whole grain consumed daily for 3 weeks did have a beneficial
effect on systolic blood pressure. The findings from the present study therefore do not
support epidemiological evidence that whole grains are beneficial in weight regulation,
although further investigation in other population groups (such as overweight and obese)
would be required.