Plant Materials for Production of Functional Foods for Weight Management and Obesity Prevention

What is it about?

Overweight and obesity are a serious problem of the modern world and are considered as elements of risk in the development of many human diseases. Consumption of low-calorie low-fat diets together with increased physical activity, and healthy lifestyle contribute a lot in the fight against obesity. Meanwhile, functional foods with a reduced calorie content and enriched with substances useful for the human body may play a role as additional helper in weight management. In this review general suggestions for elaboration of foods with plant-origin functional ingredients for weight management and consequently helping the human body for obesity prevention, based on human clinical trials, are proposed. Including new ingredients of plant-origin for the preparation of traditional foods helps to have a balanced diet and may contribute to weight management and obesity prevention.

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Photo by Ren Ran on Unsplash

Photo by Ren Ran on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Overweight and obesity have been substantially rising in the last five decades and the actual trend seems to be about the same; around 30% of the whole planet, 38% in the USA, and 21% of Europeans are obese. And in most of the developing countries the worst of both worlds is present; usually more than 50% of the population is overweight and obese, and at the same time the lack of a proper diet is a common phenomenon in high proportions of the whole society. On the other hand, it can be concluded that a large number of new ingredients for the preparation of traditional foods is proposed with the aim of manufacturing functional foods helping to prevent obesity. Including these new products into a balanced diet may contribute to weight management, and the main trends in designing and production of functional foods with anti-obesity effect are: • in meat products (i) improvement of fat composition using partial replacement of animal fat by low calorie materials rich in ω −3 polyunsaturated fatty acids to increase alpha linolenic content and correct ω-6/ω-3 ratio. These substitutes include plant materials and oils rich in ω−3 fatty acids; (ii) decrease of fat content in meat products with partial replacement of fat with dietary fiber; • in bakery products (i) decrease of fat content in these products by replacement of animal fat with plant materials; (ii) increase of the content of dietary fiber by partial replacement of wheat flour in bakery and confectionary products with ground plant seeds or flour from plant materials; • in dairy products (i) addition of plant materials to increase fiber content; (ii) replacement of fat with plant materials to decrease energetical value, and decrease fat content and increase fiber content. Research studies tend to show that overweight and obesity are entirely due to a bad diet and lack of exercise. However, lifestyle does not explain obesity completely. Sequencing studies of genomes have found about 100 genetic variants that partially are leading to the basis of obesity; some genes seem to affect it. They appear to regulate our hunger and desire for food but investigations are still in a very preliminary stage of development. Biological and chemical factors may well play important roles in obesity; some of their key answers in the near future would be very much welcomed to enjoy a healthy future.

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