Pre- and within-meal effects of fluid dairy products on appetite, food intake, glycemia, and regulatory hormones in children

The effect of beverages commonly consumed by children in-between or with meals on short-term food intake (FI) and glycemic control has received little attention. Therefore, 2 experiments were conducted in 9- to 14-year-old children following a randomized repeated-measures design. Experiment 1 (n = 32) compared the effects of water (control) and isocaloric (130 kcal) amounts of 2% milk, chocolate milk, yogurt drink, and fruit punch on subjective appetite and FI. Experiment 2 (n = 20) compared the effects of isocaloric (130 kcal) amounts of 2% milk and fruit punch on subjective appetite, FI, and glycemic and appetite hormone responses. One serving of the beverages was given as a pre-meal drink at baseline (0 min) and a second serving 60 min later with an ad libitum pizza meal. Meal FI in experiment 1 was lower by 14% and 10%, respectively, after chocolate milk and yogurt drink (p < 0.001), but not milk, compared with water. Cumulative energy intake (beverages plus meal) was higher after caloric beverages than water. In experiment 2, no differences occurred in pre-meal but post-meal glucose was 83% higher in overweight/obese than normal-weight children (p = 0.02). Milk led to higher pre-meal glucagon-like peptide-1 and post-meal peptide tyrosine tyrosine (PYY) than fruit punch (p < 0.01) but insulin did not differ between treatments. In conclusion, dairy products consumed before and with a meal have more favourable effects on FI, appetite, and satiety hormones than a sugarsweetened beverage, but all caloric beverages result in more cumulative calories than if water is the beverage.