Dietary pulses, satiety and food intake: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of acute feeding trials

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of dietary pulses (beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils) on acute satiety and second meal intake, a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted. METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Registry (through May 6, 2013) were searched for acute controlled trials examining the effect of dietary pulses on postprandial satiety or second meal intake compared with isocaloric controls. Two independent reviewers extracted data and assessed methodological quality and risk of bias. Data were pooled by generic inverse variance random effects models and expressed as ratio of means (RoMs) for satiety and mean differences (MDs) for second meal food intake, with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Heterogeneity was assessed (Q statistic) and quantified (I(2) statistic). Protocol registration: clinicaltrials.gov identifier, NCT01605422. RESULTS: Nine trials met the eligibility criteria. Dietary pulses produced a 31% greater satiety incremental area under the curve (IAUC) (RoM = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.09 to 1.58, P = 0.004; Phet = 0.96; I(2)  = 0%) without affecting second meal intake (MD = -19.94, 95% CI: -75-35, P = 0.48; Phet = 0.01; I(2)  = 63%). Our data are limited by the small sample sizes, narrow participant characteristics and significant unexplained heterogeneity among the available trials. CONCLUSIONS: Pooled analyses show that dietary pulses contribute to acute satiety but not second meal intake.