Obesity is increasing at an alarming rate in Malaysia whereby 1 in 2 adults are either overweight or obese. The yearly rising numbers do not represent a positive indicator for the population’s overall health status and instead, it may pose a serious threat. The threat arises from the emergence of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and metabolic diseases. All groups of the population being the young or old are exposed to this threat if obesity sets in them. Obesity has a huge burden impacting everyone from the individual to the national level.
National expenses would increase when more of its people are obese. Not only that, but the same economic burden would impact individuals mainly stemming from healthcare costs. To combat obesity, various interventions involving dietary intake and lifestyle habits are to be implemented. The simple concept of energy in must be equal to energy out to maintain healthy weight status is complicated with various lifestyle factors. This simple guide is further complicated by external lifestyle habits such as exercising, smoking, alcohol consumption, and sleep. Attempts in reducing weight often require negative energy imbalance, whereby energy expenditure should exceed energy intake. Adhering to this guideline would result in successful weight loss, however, while practicing this concept, a proper strategy must be in place to ensure adequate nutrient intake as well.
Dietary management is regarded as an effective method for obesity control and weight reduction. Importantly, the distribution of energy intake throughout the day must be observed and there are also several different strategies to achieve this. One such method is ensuring an individual achieves the desired satiety during their meal intake. This is where the concept of the dietary glycaemic index comes to play as by applying this approach, satiety from food intake can be achieved. Foods that are low in the glycaemic index are those that contain more complex carbohydrates as compared to high glycaemic index food which are largely refined carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrate contributes to high dietary fibre which is the core factor in achieving satiety. Greater satiety is achieved after ingestion of a low glycaemic index meal due to its slow glucose release into the bloodstream. Through this mechanism, prevention of diabetes is also feasible, by altering and lowering obesity risk.
A high dietary fibre meal would offer both satiation and satiety after a meal. Satiation mainly refers to the feeling of fullness during eating as it would trigger one to stop eating. Meanwhile, satiety is the feeling of fullness after ending meal intake and the longer satiety lasts, it would defer the next eating event. Forming bulk and high viscosity would trigger satiety through changes in the small intestine whereby it would lengthen the process of digestion and absorption of nutrients. In addition to that, foods that are high in dietary fibre increase the chewing process, therefore, it increases the time and effort to swallow. This process itself promotes greater satiety during meal intake.
Besides just food, beverages that are also low in glycaemic index offer greater satiety in a longer duration. In studies conducted to test this effect, individuals fed with beverages with lower glycaemic index displayed satiety longer than the average period of an individual consuming higher glycaemic index beverages. The same can be observed from low glycaemic index food. One theory from this is that the slower release of glucose into the bloodstream allows the feeling of fullness to linger. Satiety is an important marker in food intake as the ability to sustain the feeling of fullness longer allows one to be more satisfied with their food intake. This offers satisfaction to meal intake and provides a sense of fullness to meals consumed. Through this, overconsumption of food can be prevented, and this can be termed as a good strategy for weight management.
Appetite which is another important predictor towards meal intake was studied in groups with differing glycaemic index food. It can be notably seen that individuals fed with lower glycaemic index food exhibited better appetite control. High-satiety food allows for better weight management and regulation as it curbs appetite. Hunger and perceived satiety from food intake are the main predictors of the act of eating. By reducing appetite, overall energy intake would be lowered. One way this outcome is achieved is when appetite is reduced, the movement of food in the bowel is slower too. This would prolong the digestion and metabolism time and therefore offers greater satiety and suppress appetite. Glucose and insulin release would release at a slower pace resulting in a slower metabolism and this results in absence of hunger. Hunger is the cue of an individual seeking food intake, therefore when this effect is suppressed, an individual may not seek to consume food in a shorter interval between meals.
As energy balance is the key to weight management, any reduction in energy intake would offer a promising change in weight. The act of curbing appetite is potential in reducing weight, especially among overweight and obese individuals. Hence, ensuring a diet contains a lower dietary glycaemic index such as one that incorporates the consumption of red rice could help to improve satiety and regulate appetite. Fibre that is found in red rice can help to promote greater satiety and this promotes better weight management in the long run. The approach to replace white rice with red rice can help to promote good digestion, attributed to the higher fibre content in red rice. This too would provide good gut health as fibre content in red rice aids in good digestion in the small intestine.
In efforts to combat obesity and weight management, utilizing the concept of a glycaemic index is useful as it addresses key issues in obesity onset such as metabolic disturbances. Glycaemic index of food is promising in aspects of obtaining good control of blood glucose levels by ensuring a slow release of both insulin and glucose into the bloodstream. Therefore, incorporating foods that can promote greater satiety and reduce appetite should be warranted and explored as this would help attain healthier weight in the long run.