Biological Response to Meal Ingestion: Gender Differences

Aim: to determine the effect of gender on the sensory and metabolomic responses to a standard probe meal. Participants (12 men and 12 women) will be instructed to eat a standard dinner the day before, to consume a standard breakfast at home after overnight fast, and to report to the laboratory, where the test meal will be administered 4 h after breakfast. Studies will be conducted in a quiet, isolated room with participants sitting on a chair. Participants will ingest a standard probe meal (750 Kcal). Perception of homeostatic sensations (hunger/satiation, fullness) and hedonic sensations (digestive well-being, mood) will be measured at 5 min intervals 10 min before and 20 min after ingestion and at 10 min intervals up to 60 min after the probe meal. Heart rate variability, blood pressure and body temperature were measured before and after the meal. Blood samples for metabolomic analysis were taken before and 30 min after the meal.