Slimming World collaborates on ground-breaking research with University of Leeds

This ambitious project includes a series of studies examining the effect of real foods on satiety. One of the largest projects of its kind, it aims to deliver a practical reference system comparing the impact of foods on satiety, reward and weight management. The goal is to give scientists, health professionals and industry a shared, evidence-based way to characterise and compare the satiety value of foods and ultimately support people to make enjoyable food choices that also keep them fuller for longer. 

The project will conclude with the development of a Satiety Map (SatMap) system as presently there is no reference system relating food items to a measure of satiety. The map will be formed from a large representative sample of foods applied to a diverse range of consumer groups, including people who are trying to manage their weight.  

As part of the development of SatMap, a wide range of foods, representative of those consumed by the general population, have been surveyed to help understand their perceived satiety value and impact on reward and weight management. A subsample has also been tested in a lab environment, where participants consumed the food and fed back on measures of satiety.  

Researchers at the University of Leeds anticipate that SatMap could serve as a shared reference system for academics and the food sector, helping to standardise how satiety is quantified across studies and products. Over time, the approach could inform healthier product development and evidence-based guidance that aligns pleasure and fullness as two pillars of sustainable eating. 

Dr Sarah Bennett, Registered Nutritionist and Senior Research Associate at Slimming World, says: “Slimming World are proud to be funding this research with the University of Leeds. There is a lot of misinformation being spread across social media platforms, regarding foods that are most filling, satiating or that will promote weight loss.  

Over 70,000 foods from Slimming World’s own database have been used as part of the research project. As well as studying the consumption habits of the general population, a significant number of Slimming World members have completed multiple surveys on the foods they consume to help add depth and further understanding of the eating behaviours and habits of people wanting to lose weight.

Professor James Stubbs at the University of Leeds, says: “Researchers, health professionals and the general population have long needed the development of evidence-based reference values indicating the relative satiety value of common foods and how the composition, physical structure and sensory characteristics of foods relate to motivation to eat and may affect calorie intake.