Bioactive Dietary Fibres and Obesity

Obesity is a wide reaching problem in the United Kingdom (UK). The most widely used obesity therapies are based around drugs that reduce dietary fat digestion, and thereby reduce uptake of calories from the diet. While such therapies have proved effective, patient compliance is low due to the unwanted gastrointestinal side effects of these drugs. Dietary fibre is generally classified as dietary material of plant origin that is indigestible to humans. Dietary fibre is in fact a wide range of different compounds that have varied effects on the human body. Initial findings from our laboratory suggest that types of fibre from seaweeds (alginates) can greatly reduce the rate that fat is digested in the laboratory. Our studies have identified which types of fibre are the most effective and our aim is to test whether this reduction in fat digestion is the same within the human body. This will be carried out by sampling the digestive fluid from 40 ileostomy patients over a five hour period following a test meal with and without dietary fibres. All study participants will be provided with test foods specially prepared containing the dietary fibres (e.g. in bread). We will collect data from the participants on what they have eaten and how hungry they feel.