The Introduction

Obesity is a condition of excess body fat, and it is defined as having a body mass index (weight in kg divided by the height squared in m) of ≥ 30 kg/m. The prevalence of obesity in US adults has increased from 15% in 1980 to over 40% in 2024. This steep rise in the number of obese individuals in the US has made the obesity epidemic one of the leading public health concerns of the century.

Obesity is associated with type II diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, gallstones, osteoarthritis, and many types of cancers. As a result, for every 5-unit increase in BMI above 25 kg/m, mortality increases by 29%, cardiovascular mortality by 41%, and diabetes-related mortality by 21%. Furthermore, obese compared to normal-weight individuals incur greater healthcare (36%) and medication (77%) costs. 

Obesity occurs through multiple mechanisms. However, it is most notably manifested through a sedentary lifestyle and excessive energy intake above daily needs. Evidence suggests that the degree of obesity is directly related to the amount of fat consumed, and some experts propose that of all potential factors influencing obesity, high-fat (HF) diets may initiate the strongest effect. 

Because HF foods are so popular among Americans, introducing toppings that are high in fat, such as peanut butter, may accelerate fat gain. One potential strategy to prevent fat gain may be to modify higher-fat kinds of butter or foods to reduce fat digestion and absorption. 

Peanut butter, a high-fat food item, is commonly consumed by many Americans.  An example of modified foods including peanut butter has been marketed for consumption by (WiO SmartFoods™). 

The product contains modified cyclodextrins (CD), a naturally occurring fiber.  Modified cyclodextrins, a soluble dietary fiber, have been shown to bind and eliminate nine times its weight in dietary fat. Studies with different animal models have reported that CD preferentially binds fatty acids, reducing their levels in the blood. Clinical trials demonstrated that CD prevented weight gain in obese diabetic patients.  However, the combination of CD with peanut butter in healthy subjects remains to be examined.

Source: The Childhood Obesity Intervention Cost-Effectiveness Study (CHOICES)

The Results

After the 14-day period, the first group increased their body fat by more than 6%. The group that consumed the WiO SmartFoods™ formulated peanut butter gained no weight or body fat.

Metabolism - There were no significant between- or within-condition differences for resting metabolic rate (p>0.05, Figure 1) or respiratory exchange ratio.  

Dietary Intake - There were no significant between-group differences (p>0.05) for the percentage of calories consumed from fat, carbohydrate (CHO), or protein (PRO). Additionally, no significant differences in total calorie intake (kcal) occurred between groups (p>0.05, Table 4).

Fat Mass (FM) - Fat Mass significantly increased from Pre- to Post-Test in the HC + RPB condition (p<0.05, mean diff = +1.00kg, 95% CI: 0.11 to 1.88kg) whereas no significant changes were demonstrated in the HC + MPB condition. (Figure 1).

Additionally, the relative Pre-Test to Post-Test percent change was significantly greater in HC + RPB (p<0.05, mean diff = 6.04%g), 95% CI: 0.43 to 12.50%, Figure 3) compared to HC+MPB. The raw data expressed as mean and standard error is displayed in Table 1.

Discussion and Conclusions

The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the effects of a hyper-caloric diet with regular peanut butter (HC +RPB) versus a hyper-caloric diet with modified peanut butter (HC + MPB), consumed over 2 weeks each, on body composition and metabolism in a cross-over design using 6 healthy subjects. The primary findings of the study were that 2 weeks of overfeeding with regular peanut butter resulted in an approximately 1 kg or a 6.3 % increase in fat mass while the subjects given WiO peanut butter had no significant change in fat mass. *Research Department, Applied Science and Performance Institute.  Tampa, FL, USA

However, when peanut butter was treated with Modified Cyclodextrins, subjects did not gain fat.

These findings agreed with Antonio J. (The effect of peanut butter overfeeding in trained men and women: A pilot trial. J Exerc Nutr. 2017) who found that overfeeding with regular peanut butter by the same amount but spread over 4 weeks also increased fat mass by about a kg. However, in the current study when peanut butter was treated with Modified Cyclodextrins, fat gain was prevented.

Our results also agreed with previous research in obese individuals that demonstrated that Modified Cyclodextrins were able to prevent fat gain when overfeeding on a high-fat diet.(Jen C, Grunberger, Artiss. On the binding ratio of & alpha; cyclodextrin to dietary fat in humans. Nut Dietary Suppl. 2013).

While we did not investigate the exact mechanism of action previous studies have. Specifically, Modified Cyclodextrins are cyclic oligosaccharides derived from corn. These fibers have been shown to form a stable complex with dietary fat. Once formed the complex is resistant to normal lipolytic hydrolysis by lipases and thereby reduces the absorption and bioavailability of dietary fat.

Thus, it is likely that the fiber source prevented over assimilation of calories into fat by inhibiting their absorption.

In conclusion, the alteration of peanut butter with WiO SmartFoods™ Modified Cyclodextrins was able to prevent fat gain. These results have implications for the prevention of fat gain in numerous populations. Our research has extended previous findings in obese populations to normal healthy weight populations.