Impact of food texture and degree of food processing on post-meal satiety and later snack intake

Ultra-processed-foods are speculated offer lower satiety than the same energy consumed in less-processed forms. Meal-texture influences eating rate (ER) and energy intake within a meal, but it remains unclear whether these texture effects influence post-meal experience of satiety in minimally and highly processed meals. We examined whether food texture (softer vs. harder) influence post-meal satiety in minimally- and ultra-processed fixed portion meals. Across four test-sessions in a randomised crossover design, forty-three healthy men (28.2 ± 7.1y; BMI = 22.4 ± 1.8 kg/m2) consumed four fixed compulsory portion lunch meals, consisting of “soft-minimally-processed”, “hard-minimally-processed”, “soft-ultra-processed”, and “hard-ultra-processed” components. Meals were approximately matched for energy density, total weight, and total energy served. ER was derived using behavioural coding of videos. Appetite-ratings were measured at baseline and during the 2h after test meal. Participants were provided an ad-libitum snack 2h post-meal and intake was recorded (kcal and g). Subsequent food-intake was self-reported by food-diary. The “Hard-ultra-processed-meal” (25.9 g/min) was consumed 2-times slower than the “soft-ultra-processed-meal” (61.2 g/min) and generated significantly greater post-meal iAUC120 for fullness for the same energy consumed (Δ = 32%), after confounders’ adjustment (Texture∗processing-effect, P = 0.039). Other minimally processed meals (soft and hard) did not differ significantly from the “soft-ultra-processed-meal” in iAUC120. Lowest energy intake of ad-libitum snack was reported following “hard-ultra-processed-meal” (↓118 kcal; Texture∗Processing effect, P = 0.004). “Hard-ultra-processed-meal” delivered significantly higher post-meal satiety than other meals. We concluded that meals classified as ultra-processed do not necessarily deliver lower satiety compared to the same energy consumed as minimally processed meals. © 2026 Published by Elsevier Ltd.