Macronutrient and dietary energy density influences on the intake of free-living humans.

The influence of the composition of foods, their macronutrient contents and the dietary energy densities on intake, were investigated by analyzing 7-day diet diary reports from 669 free-living normal adult humans who adequately reported intake. The analyses revealed subtle but small macronutrient specific relationships with intake. Dietary energy density, however, was found to have large reliable short-term relationships with intake. The results support the hypothesis that short-term intake is controlled on the basis of the volume of nutrients in the stomach at the end of the meal and not upon their food energy or macronutrient contents.