Chia Seed Impact on Postprandial Glycemia and Appetite in Overweight Adults

Incremental area under the blood glucose curve (iAUC) will be calculated from capillary blood glucose concentrations measured using a portable blood glucose meter (glucometer) from finger-prick blood samples at baseline (0 minutes) and at 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 minutes following beverage consumption. The iAUC will be calculated using the trapezoidal method over the 120-minute postprandial period, with fasting baseline glucose concentration used as the reference. Areas below the baseline will not contribute to the iAUC. The iAUC will be expressed in mmol·min/L. A lower iAUC indicates a lower overall postprandial glycemic response over 120 minutes. The change in iAUC between the intervention (50 g glucose + 30 g chia seeds) and control (50 g glucose) beverages will be compared.

Appetite will be assessed using 100-mm Visual Analog Scales for hunger, fullness, desire to eat, and prospective food consumption. Each scale ranges from 0 to 100 mm. For hunger, desire to eat, and prospective food consumption, 0 indicates the lowest intensity ("not at all"/"nothing at all") and 100 indicates the highest intensity ("extremely"/"an extremely large amount"); higher scores indicate greater appetite. For fullness, 0 indicates not at all full and 100 indicates extremely full; higher scores indicate greater fullness and better appetite suppression.