Agar jelly, appetite, gastric emptying and blood sugar
What it found
In 11 healthy people, a jelly with 4 g of agar left the stomach more slowly and increased feelings of appetite, but blood sugar and energy burned after eating were about the same as with a drink.
The authors say the agar's thickness is the likely reason.
What they found
Studies in people
Stomach emptying
The jelly delayed stomach emptying at all time points compared with the liquid. This included the latency phase, lag phase, half time and ascension time.
Appetite
The jelly increased all appetite measures compared with the liquid: hunger, fullness, desire to eat and prospective consumption.
Blood sugar
There was no significant difference in blood sugar response between the jelly and the liquid. The average blood sugar response was 161 in the liquid group and 168 in the jelly group.
Energy burned
There was no significant difference in diet-induced thermogenesis between the two meals. The average was 7.8 kcal for the liquid and 6.0 kcal for the jelly.
What the authors conclude
“Agar delays GE and increases appetite but does not change GR or DIT most probably due to the increase in viscosity caused by the agar jelly.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that agar delays stomach emptying and increases appetite but does not change blood sugar response or diet-induced thermogenesis.
- They say this is most probably due to the increase in thickness caused by the agar jelly.
- They advise that further research into the insulin response and how much food people eat after agar is warranted.
How it was done
Agar is a soluble fibre that has been shown to delay stomach emptying, but little was known about its effects on appetite and on the energy the body uses to digest food. The authors wanted to see whether agar could be useful for weight control.
Eleven healthy volunteers took part in a randomised controlled crossover trial. On two separate mornings after an overnight fast, they consumed either a fruit-flavoured drink or a fruit-flavoured jelly containing 4 g of agar, matched for 50 g of available carbohydrate. Stomach emptying, appetite, blood sugar and diet-induced thermogenesis were measured over 3 hours.
What it can’t tell you
- This was a small study in 11 healthy people, so the results may not apply to everyone.
- The study did not measure insulin, so it cannot show whether insulin played a role in the lack of difference in blood sugar.
- Appetite was measured using a questionnaire, not by how much food people actually ate.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Oxford Brookes University, UK
The paper
- Title
- The effect of agar jelly on energy expenditure, appetite, gastric emptying and glycaemic response
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Clegg ME, Shafat A (2014). The effect of agar jelly on energy expenditure, appetite, gastric emptying and glycaemic response. European journal of nutrition. doi:10.1007/s00394-013-0559-xFree full textPubMed 23872837DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error