Effect of Food Form on Satiety and Gastric Emptying

Our objective is to determine whether food form (liquid vs. solid) alters gastric emptying, satiety, and food intake, when all macronutrients and fiber are controlled. The study population will include 10 healthy women, who have a normal body mass index. We have chosen to evaluate only women because this is a small pilot study and one of our endpoints is gastric emptying. Gastric emptying is known to differ between men and women. Gastric emptying will be evaluated using the Smartpill technology, satiety will be evaluated using computerized visual analog scales/questions, and food intake will be measured by providing subjects with an ad libitum/buffet-style lunch. Our hypothesis is that our subjects will be less hungry after they eat a solid breakfast compared to a liquid breakfast. We also hypothesize that our subjects will have a slower gastric emptying time after they eat the solid meal. Lastly, we think subjects will want to eat less food at lunch time if they have eaten a solid meal compared to a liquid meal for breakfast.