Satiety quotient may have limited use in obese teens

The satiety quotient (SQ) appears to have limited value as an indicator in adolescents with obesity, a recent study has found.

Sixty-eight obese adolescents were enrolled, from which anthropometric and body composition measures were collected. Participants randomly underwent one of two experimental sessions. Condition 1 (C1) included a standardized breakfast and was used for SQ calculation. Condition 2 (C2) involved the same breakfast, an ad libitum lunch, and a dinner buffet.

Appetite feelings before breakfast, immediately after, and at 30 and 60 minutes, were assessed using a visual analogue scale. SQ was calculated in both conditions, basing only on the calibrated breakfasts. All participants underwent both experiments with a 1-week interval in between.

The satiety (p=0.007) and prospective food consumption (p=0.005) scores of the SQ were significantly different between C1 and C2. No such effect was reported for hunger, desire to eat, and mean SQ scores.

Moreover, none of the SQ measures during the C2 scenario correlated significantly with body weight, fat mass, and body mass index. SQ was likewise unrelated to subsequent ad libitum energy intake, nor did it share any associations with absolute and relative macronutrient intakes.

The researchers also found no differences in any of the appetite sensations, during fasting and before meals, between participants with low and high satiety phenotypes, as determined under the C2 scenario.

“[O]ur results suggest that while the SQ is a reliable indicator in adults, it must be used with caution in adolescents with obesity due to its lack of association with anthropometric measurements, body composition, and energy and macronutrient intakes in this population,” researchers said.