ORIGINAL PAPER Effect of Cooked White Rice with High β-glucan Barley on Appetite and Energy Intake in Healthy Japanese Subjects: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract White rice is a dominant grain-based food in Japan, but excess intake of polished rice may cause obesity. Barley is a grain-based food, similar to white rice, but it has the poten-tial to control appetite and reduce energy intake. We investi-gated the effect of cooked white rice with high β-glucan barley on appetite and energy intake. The study was conduct-ed as a randomized crossover design with twenty-one healthy Japanese women [mean±standard deviation body mass index (BMI) 23.3±0.7 kg/m2]. Subjects consumed a breakfast of cooked white rice with high β-glucan barley (BAR) or white rice (WR), followed by an ad libitum lunch and dinner. Energy intake was measured at the lunch and the dinner using plate waste. Subjects ’ perception scores on hunger, fullness, satiety, and prospective food consumption were assessed using a visual analogue scale (VAS) before and after the breakfast, lunch and dinner. BAR significantly reduced the VAS scores of hunger and prospective food consumption, and increased fullness before lunch compared to WR (P=0.032, 0.019 and 0.038, respectively). Energy intake at lunch and the cumula-tive energy intake (lunch + dinner) subsequent to BAR con-sumption were significantly lower than WR (P=0.035 and 0.021, respectively). BAR was able to modulate appetite and reduce energy intake. The combination of white rice with high β-glucan barley could play a beneficial role in preventing and treating obesity and other obesity-related metabolic diseases