The study, which is being conducted by the newly formed University of Aberdeen Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, will assess mechanisms associated with hunger during dieting. The scientists are appealing for overweight male volunteers to undergo a 7 week weight-loss study at the Institute’s Human Nutrition Unit, where they will receive an individualised calorie control diet to help them lost weight. 

“Our interest is in the mechanisms that control appetite and the feeling of being full during dieting because one of the main reasons why people break a diet is because they feel hungry”, said Dr Alex Johnstone, from the University of Aberdeen Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, who is leading the study.  

“Mechanisms that control hunger are still not clearly understood. We know that the gut feeds messages to the brain to tell us to start and stop eating. Our research is designed to further our understanding of appetite control.” 

The scientists hope to design effective strategies to help people comply with weight loss regimes. 

Johnstone continued: “We know that high-protein diets are particularly helpful during dieting because protein fills you up and you feel less hungry and more full. This study will assess motivation to eat in the subjects undergoing weight loss, on three different diets, with differing amounts of protein. All of the subjects will try all of the diets”.  

Further information is available at www.rowett.ac.uk