Postprandial appetite responses to a pecan enriched meal: A randomized crossover trial

Area of Science:

• Nutritional Science
• Human Physiology
• Appetite Regulation

Background:

• Long-term pecan consumption is linked to appetite regulation in free-living settings.
• The acute physiological effects of a single pecan-containing meal on appetite remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the acute physiological, subjective, and direct appetite responses to a pecan-containing meal versus an energy- and macronutrient-matched control meal.

Main Methods:

• Employed a double-blinded randomized crossover design with two testing periods.
• Participants (healthy young adults) consumed either a pecan meal (PEC) or a control meal (CON).
• Measured postprandial peptide YY (PYY), ghrelin, and subjective appetite via blood draws and Visual Analog Scales (VAS) over 4 hours, plus at-home questionnaires and food records.

Main Results:

• The pecan meal elicited a significantly greater overall postprandial PYY response (p < 0.001) and ghrelin suppression after 120 minutes (p < 0.001) compared to the control.
• Subjective fullness increased more significantly (p = 0.001) and at-home appetite was suppressed longer (p = 0.02) following the pecan meal.
• No significant differences were observed in self-reported energy intake (EI) or other VAS measures between the meals.

Conclusions:

• A pecan-containing breakfast shake demonstrated more favorable physiological and subjective appetite improvements compared to an equivalent control meal.
• These findings suggest pecans can acutely modulate appetite hormones and subjective feelings of fullness.