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International audience; Background: Sensory factors are important determinants of appetite and food choices but little is known about the relationship between body weight and sensory capabilities. Objective: To investigate the relationship between measured body weights, misreporting of body weight and sensory capabilities. Design: In a cross-sectional sensory study, body weight was assessed by measured and self-reported body weight in healthy men ( n = 130) and women ( n = 181). Sensory capabilities were assessed as odour detection and identification, and detection for salty, sweet, sour and bitter taste. Results: Odour detection, odour identification and taste perception scores were lower in subjects with a BMI >= 28 kg/m(2) than in subjects with a BMI < 28 kg/m(2) in the age group < 65 years whereas in subjects >= 65 years scores were higher in subjects with a BMI >= 28 kg/m(2) than in subjects with a BMI < 28 kg/m(2) ( BMI*age group: P = 0.015, 0.053 and 0.015, respectively). Independent of age, scores were highest in under reporters of body weight ( P = 0.008, 0.001 and 0.017). Differences in taste perception could be attributed to sour ( P 0.015) and bitter ( P = 0.026) perception, but not to salty or sweet perception. Conclusion: Relationship between sensory capabilities and body mass is age dependent. Compared to overweight subjects, the sensory capabilities of normal weight individuals appear to be higher ( < 65 years) and lower ( >= 65 years). At any age, however, subjects who under reported their body weight show higher sensory capabilities.

Soluble, viscous, but not insoluble dietary fibre has been shown to lower serum cholesterol. Due to the high content of polyphenols, however, insoluble dietary fibre from carob pods may have physiological benefits beyond those of the usual insoluble dietary fibre preparations. Insoluble polyphenol-rich fibre preparations from carob pods have also been shown to significantly lower serum total and LDL cholesterol in cholesterol-fed rodents (hamsters, rats), while HDL and triglycerides remained unchanged. An increased fecal excretion of bile acids caused by binding to the fibre constituents is supposed to be responsible for this effect. In human studies, consumption of 15 g/d of a carob fibre preparation over 6 weeks lowered LDL cholesterol by 11.0% in hypercholesterolemic subjects. This suggests that carob fibre may be effective in the dietary treatment of hypercholesterolernia. Recent studies have also shown that dietary fiber rich in polyphenols may (1) lower the glycemic index of food and (2) have anti-inflammatory effect. If carob fibre shows similar effects, it may be of special interest in the treatment of the metabolic syndrome

Objective: To determine whether the cholesterol-lowering effect of a plant-based low-fat diet can be improved by a flexible control design that controls the extent of fat reduction based on the individual response of blood cholesterol. Design: Randomized, double-blind intervention study. Setting: A hotel in Prerow, Germany. Subjects: A total of 32 participants ( 21 female and 11 male participants) with total cholesterol level >5.7 mmol/l. Intervention: The control group consumed a plant-based low-fat diet with constantly 20% of energy as fat; the intervention group received a diet with either 20 or 15% of energy as fat, depending on the serum cholesterol response of the preceding week. A flexible control design based on the individual cholesterol response during a run-in period of 1 week was used within a low-fat intervention. Results: During the run-in period, the consumption of a plant-based low-fat diet led to a reduction in total cholesterol by 18 +/- 6 mmol/l ( P