fiber has long been known to satiate appetite and keep us full for longer , but previous research supposed the reason was that it takes longer to digest , keeping us satisfied for longer after we ’ ve stopped eating .
researchers at imperial college discovered an ‘ anti - appetite molecule called acetate .
experiments conducted at imperial college london were performed in accordance with the uk animals scientific procedures act ( 1986 ) .
“ there has been lots of epidemiological information showing a relationship between fibre and obesity , but no one has been able to connect the epidemiological results with actual mechanisms , ” says jimmy bell , a biochemist at imperial college london who worked on the research , published today in nature communications1 .
obesity and diabetes already costs the uk over £ 5billion every year which is likely to rise to £ 50 billion in the next 36 years .
unless otherwise stated , all experiments were performed in c57bl6 male mice ( 6–8 weeks old , charles river , margate , uk ) that were single - housed under controlled temperature ( 21–23 oc ) and light conditions peter cade getty a study of mouse metabolism suggests that a product of fibre fermentation may be directly affecting the hypothalamus , a region of the brain involved in regulating appetite .
but this new research published in the journal nature communications shows that the acetate released when we digest roughage lowers our appetites when it gets directly into our bloodstream , colon or brain .
acetate , the researchers discovered , is naturally released when fiber is digested in the gut , and when it ’s released , it is taken to the brain where it signals us to stop eating .
one in four adults in england is obese and that figure is set to climb to 60 per cent of men and 50 per cent of women by 2050 .