Energy Reduction and Umami

NCT07438028 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: NL-011508
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 30
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

People tend to regulate intake by the weight of food rather than its energy content, making energy dense foods, especially those combining salty, fatty, and umami tastes, more likely to promote passive overconsumption. Lowering energy density can reduce daily energy intake, but often decreases palatability, whereas umami can enhance palatability, and sometimes decrease food intake. This suggests that adding umami to a regular energy dense diet could reduce food intake over time, and that adding umami to a reduced energy dense diet could sustain palatability and limit compensatory energy intake. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess the effect of a 2-week dietary intervention of adding umami and/or lowering energy density on food intake. Secondary objectives are whether adding umami and/or lowering energy density affect dietary satisfaction, appetite, perceived umami intensity, food preferences, bodyweight and composition, and wellbeing ratings. This will assessed in a double-blind crossover, randomized controlled trial of three times two weeks, each separated by two weeks washout in 33 healthy Dutch adults between 18-65 years of age, with a BMI between 20-30. Umami taste will be added through MSG supplementation of the three main meals. Supplementation will depend on both intervention group, and individual participants' body weight. Energy density will be lowered by swapping regular products for low-fat, low-sugar or higher water products. The three intervention diets will vary in umami taste intensity, and/or energy density: 1) regular energy density without added umami (control), 2) regular energy density with added umami, 3) reduced energy density with added umami. Umami will be supplemented by supplementing food items with 55-60 mg MSG per kg bodyweight daily, divided over three eating occasions. Foods will be offered ad libitum, and participants will add a seasoning sachet containing MSG to their selected portion. The primary objective will be to compare average daily food intake (kcal) over two weeks between the three dietary interventions differing in umami taste intensity and energy density. Secondary outcomes are dietary satisfaction, appetite, perceived umami intensity, food preferences, bodyweight and composition, and wellbeing ratings.

Conditions

Sensory Testing; Umami Taste; Energy Density; Food Intake Measurement

Keywords

umami; taste; intensity; ad libitum; intake; reduced energy

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Food intake (kcal)

  Difference between interventions in daily food intake, averaged over two weeks. Food intake is defined as total daily energy intake from meal, snack and drink consumption. Food intake will be measured by weighing breakfast, lunch and dinner intake in grams, which will be converted to energy (kcal). Snack and drink consumption will be recorded and converted to energy (kcal) as well. Food intake is measured daily, and averaged over each intervention.

  From start to end of each intervention (day 1-14, day 29-42 and day 57-72).

Secondary Outcomes (9)

• Dietary satisfaction

  Measured at day 14 (end) of each intervention.

• Appetite and thirst ratings

  From start to end of each intervention (day 1 to day 14, day 19 to day 42 and day 56 to day 70).

• Taste Preference

  Measured at day 14 (end) of each intervention.

• Perceived umami taste intensity

  Measured at day 14 (end) of each intervention.

• Fat mass

  Six times during each intervention (day 1, 3, 6, 8, 12 and 14).

Other Outcomes (9)

• MSG consumption

  From start to end of each intervention (day 1-14, day 29-42 and day 57-72)

• Sex

  Baseline (day 0)

• Age

  Baseline (day 0)

Study Arms (6)

regED/-MSG -> regED/+MSG -> lowED/+MSG

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive Intervention regED/+MSG in Period 1, Intervention regED/-MSG in Period 2, and Intervention lowED/+MSG in Period 3.

Other: Regular energy density, no added umami; Other: Regular energy density, with added umami; Other: Lowered energy density, with added umami

regED/-MSG -> lowED/-MSG -> regED/+MSG

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive Intervention regED/-MSG in Period 1, Intervention lowED/+MSG in Period 2, and Intervention regED/+MSG in Period 3.

Other: Regular energy density, no added umami; Other: Regular energy density, with added umami; Other: Lowered energy density, with added umami

regED/+MSG -> lowED/+MSG -> regED/-MSG

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive Intervention regED/+MSG in Period 1, Intervention lowED/+MSG in Period 2, and Intervention regED/-MSG in Period 3.

Other: Regular energy density, no added umami; Other: Regular energy density, with added umami; Other: Lowered energy density, with added umami

regED/+MSG -> regED/-MSG -> lowED/+MSG

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive Intervention regED/+MSG in Period 1, Intervention regED/-MSG in Period 2, and Intervention lowED/+MSG in Period 3.

Other: Regular energy density, no added umami; Other: Regular energy density, with added umami; Other: Lowered energy density, with added umami

lowED/+MSG -> regED/+MSG -> regED/-MSG

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive Intervention lowED/+MSG in Period 1, Intervention regED/+MSG in Period 2, and Intervention regED/-MSG in Period 3.

Other: Regular energy density, no added umami; Other: Regular energy density, with added umami; Other: Lowered energy density, with added umami

lowED/+MSG -> regED/-MSG -> regED/+MSG

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive Intervention lowED/+MSG in Period 1, Intervention regED/-MSG in Period 2, and Intervention regED/+MSG in Period 3.

Other: Regular energy density, no added umami; Other: Regular energy density, with added umami; Other: Lowered energy density, with added umami

Interventions

Regular energy density, no added umami OTHER

During this intervention, participants will receive a Dutch diet with regular energy density, without added umami (MSG)

Also known as: regED/-MSG

lowED/+MSG -> regED/+MSG -> regED/-MSG; lowED/+MSG -> regED/-MSG -> regED/+MSG; regED/+MSG -> lowED/+MSG -> regED/-MSG; regED/+MSG -> regED/-MSG -> lowED/+MSG; regED/-MSG -> lowED/-MSG -> regED/+MSG; regED/-MSG -> regED/+MSG -> lowED/+MSG

Regular energy density, with added umami OTHER

During this intervention, participants will receive a Dutch diet with regular energy density, with added umami (MSG). Added umami will represent Dutch MSG intake levels of around the 95th percentile, which is about 55-60 mg/kg body weight.

Also known as: regED/+MSG

lowED/+MSG -> regED/+MSG -> regED/-MSG; lowED/+MSG -> regED/-MSG -> regED/+MSG; regED/+MSG -> lowED/+MSG -> regED/-MSG; regED/+MSG -> regED/-MSG -> lowED/+MSG; regED/-MSG -> lowED/-MSG -> regED/+MSG; regED/-MSG -> regED/+MSG -> lowED/+MSG

Lowered energy density, with added umami OTHER

During this intervention, participants will receive a Dutch diet with lowered energy density, with added umami (MSG). Energy density will be lowered by substituting regular products for lower-fat, lower-sugar or higher water versions. Added umami will represent Dutch MSG intake levels of around the 95th percentile, which is about 55-60 mg/kg body weight.

Also known as: lowED/+MSG

lowED/+MSG -> regED/+MSG -> regED/-MSG; lowED/+MSG -> regED/-MSG -> regED/+MSG; regED/+MSG -> lowED/+MSG -> regED/-MSG; regED/+MSG -> regED/-MSG -> lowED/+MSG; regED/-MSG -> lowED/-MSG -> regED/+MSG; regED/-MSG -> regED/+MSG -> lowED/+MSG

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 65 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Healthy: as judged by the participant;
• Proper understanding of the Dutch language, as questionnaires will be in Dutch;
• Able to visit Wageningen University, as required for dietary intervention and testing;
• Body mass index 20-30 kg/m2;
• Having normal taste ability, assessed using Mueller taste strip test, ≥12 out of 20 assessed correctly.

You may not qualify if:

• Suffering from endocrine- or gastro-intestinal diseases or other diseases that might influence study outcomes (such as diabetes, Crohn's disease, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, etc.);
• Diagnosed with eating disorders (currently or in the past);
• Diagnosed with taste or smell disorders in the past six months;
• Pregnant or lactating during the study intervention;
• Following a strict dietary regime;
• Extreme physical activity (\>10 hours per week moderate/high intensity exercise);
• Gain or loss of more than 5 kgs in the last six months prior to study entry;
• Suffering from lack of appetite for any reason;
• Use of medication that may influence the appetite (medication will be judged by the medical investigator);
• Having a food allergy and/or intolerance for foods used in the dietary intervention (e.g. lactose intolerance, gluten intolerance, MSG sensitivity). This will be assessed with an open question;
• Consumes more than 14 (women) or 21 (men) glasses of alcohol per week;
• Consumes MSG-rich sauces (soy sauce, ketjap and/or curry paste) more than once per day, or consumes more than 3 savoury food items (paprika chips, instant noodles, sundried tomatoes and/or pre-packaged seasonings) per day. This will be assessed with a frequency of consumption table;
• Irregular eating pattern. This will be measured with a frequency of meal/food consumption table, and is defined as: frequency of breakfast consumption less than once per week;
• Unwilling to maintain regular exercise pattern during the study period. This will be assessed with a yes/no question;
• Unwilling to quit use of soft or hard drugs during the intervention;

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Wageningen University: lead
• Ajinomoto Co., Inc.: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Department of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University

Wageningen, Gelderland, 6708WE, Netherlands

Location

Related Publications (6)

• James BL, Loken E, Roe LS, Myrissa K, Lawton CL, Dye L, Rolls BJ. Validation of the Diet Satisfaction Questionnaire: a new measure of satisfaction with diets for weight management. Obes Sci Pract. 2018 Oct 10;4(6):506-514. doi: 10.1002/osp4.299. eCollection 2018 Dec.

  PMID: 30574344 BACKGROUND

• Terpstra SES, Hoogervorst LA, van der Velde JHPM, Mutsert R, van de Stadt LA, Rosendaal FR, Kloppenburg M. Validation of the SQUASH physical activity questionnaire using accelerometry: The NEO study. Osteoarthr Cartil Open. 2024 Mar 18;6(2):100462. doi: 10.1016/j.ocarto.2024.100462. eCollection 2024 Jun.

  PMID: 38577551 BACKGROUND

• Dalton M, Finlayson G, Hill A, Blundell J. Preliminary validation and principal components analysis of the Control of Eating Questionnaire (CoEQ) for the experience of food craving. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2015 Dec;69(12):1313-7. doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2015.57. Epub 2015 Apr 8.

  PMID: 25852028 BACKGROUND

• Mueller C, Kallert S, Renner B, Stiassny K, Temmel AF, Hummel T, Kobal G. Quantitative assessment of gustatory function in a clinical context using impregnated "taste strips". Rhinology. 2003 Mar;41(1):2-6.

  PMID: 12677732 BACKGROUND

• Masic U, Yeomans MR. Umami flavor enhances appetite but also increases satiety. Am J Clin Nutr. 2014 Aug;100(2):532-8. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.113.080929. Epub 2014 Jun 18.

  PMID: 24944058 BACKGROUND

• Bellisle F. Experimental studies of food choices and palatability responses in European subjects exposed to the Umami taste. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2008;17 Suppl 1:376-9.

  PMID: 18296383 BACKGROUND

Central Study Contacts

Merel J. van der Kruijssen, Msc

CONTACT

+31 6 1289431; merel.vanderkruijssen@wur.nl

Monica Mars, Dr. Ir.

CONTACT

monica.mars@wur.nl

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: TRIPLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Prof. Dr.

Model Details: Randomised controlled intervention study (RCT). Participants are randomized to one of six possible intervention sequences, representing all permutations of the three interventions. Each participant completes three study periods and receives all three interventions in different orders depending on their assigned sequence. Two-week washout periods are included between intervention periods to minimize carryover effects.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 20, 2026
• First Posted: February 27, 2026
• Study Start (Estimated): September 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Last Updated: May 27, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: SAP, ANALYTIC CODE
• Time Frame: Following the publication. No end date.
• Access Criteria: Anyone who whishes to access the data for secondary analysis must contact corresponding authors of specific publications for their approval. Next to this, they must reference the source of the data to provide appropriate credit to those who generated the data and allow searching for the studies it has supported.

Locations

NL (1)