A 2007 study found that vegetable soup as an appetizer reduced lunch energy intake by 20%, offering insights into appetite control.
Study on soup and energy intake
In 2007, a study involving 60 adults examined how consuming vegetable soup as an appetizer affected their energy consumption at lunch. The research, published in the journal Appetite, aimed to understand whether eating soup before a meal could influence how much people ate later.Study design and methodology
The study, led by Julie E. Flood and Barbara J. Rolls, used a randomized controlled trial over five weeks. Participants were given one of four types of vegetable soup or no food before a meal and then allowed to eat freely 15 minutes later. Each participant experienced all five conditions in a crossover study to ensure consistent comparisons.Soup increased satiety and reduced energy intake
Researchers found that eating soup before the meal increased participants' feelings of fullness and reduced the amount of energy they consumed at lunch. On average, energy intake during the test meal decreased by 20 percent when soup was served compared to when no soup was eaten.Quantified energy reduction
The study measured the average energy reduction at "134 +/- 25 kcal (561 +/- 105 kJ)" when soup was consumed as an appetizer. These results suggest that eating soup before a meal can lower both the energy intake of the test meal and the total energy intake when combined with the preload (soup) compared to not eating soup beforehand.
