The satiating mechanisms of major food constituents – An aid to rational food design

•The mechanisms of satiation delivery are very different for the different food constituents.•Food constituents can themselves influence several factors, all of which can affect feeding behaviour.•This knowledge could favour new food design with additional value.•The selection of ingredients should consider their contributions to acceptable physical and sensory properties.•High fibre/higher protein levels are the best options for formulating foods to control hunger.

The worldwide rise in the prevalence of excess weight lends great interest to preventive measures aimed at satiety/satiation. Human body-weight regulation is complex and is rooted in a superstructure that takes in sensory signals from food, neuro-hormonal signals from the digestive tract and signals from the body's energy reserves. Recent research has contributed more insight into the satiating mechanisms of constituents/ingredients for new food design. Knowing why to select them, what they contribute to the food's physical and sensory properties and how they are integrated into the food matrix will provide suitable tools for designing satiating foods.