Tailored Carbohydrate Quality for Personalized Weight Management and Metabolic Health

Research Project, 2019 – 2022

This project will investigate the role of carbohydrate quality (CQ) on weight management, appetite and cardiometabolic health in humans as well as underlying mechanisms by which CQ affects consumers. It will also promote career development and mobility of Early Career Scientists (ECS) to foster the new generation of scientists in food and health. Experimental models, clinical approaches and OMICs will be used in a multidisciplinary setting. Results will be transferred to industry and disseminated to the scientific community and general public. We will take advantage of the data and samples from large weight-loss study conducted earlier in collaboration with Agrifood industry, outside the current collaboration, showing interesting effects on weight-management of a high-cereal fibre vs refined cereal diet.

In summary, we will exploit (i) metabolomics to discover biomarker panels that can predict tailored advice on high-fibre diets for successful weight-loss (personalized nutrition), (ii) mechanistic studies to identify molecular mechanisms evoked by carbohydrates and (iii) the relationship between perceived satiety and food structure. Results are expected to translate into improved high-fibre cereal foods tailored for optimal metabolic health and weight management for individuals or consumer groups.