Short-term continuous enteral tube feeding schedules did not suppress appetite and food intake in healthy men in a placebo-controlled trial

Tube feeding (TF) provides a model with which to study appetite when nutrient delivery bypasses the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract and associated cephalic phase response. Nocturnal, diurnal and 24-h TF schedules are used clinically, but their effects on satiety have not been distinguished. This study tested two hypotheses: 1) bypassing the upper GI tract with TF has little satiating effect, and 2) diurnal TF suppresses appetite and food intake more than nocturnal or 24-h schedules. Six healthy men, residing in a metabolic suite, each received three continuous TF schedules (diurnal 12-h, nocturnal 12-h and 24-h; 6.86 [+ or -] 0.51 MJ/d) in random order for 3 d over separate 10-d periods. Two days before and after TF, a placebo feed ( KEY WORDS: * tube feeding * appetite * food intake * healthy men