Research

Hormonal

Consuming a high-fat lunch rich in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA, specifically oleic acid) stimulates appetite and increases subsequent energy intake compared to consuming lunches rich in polyunsaturated (PUFA) or saturated fatty acids (SFA).

If you are trying to control your appetite, the type of fat in your meal matters. A lunch high in monounsaturated fats (like olive oil) may leave you feeling less full and cause you to eat more later compared to a lunch high in polyunsaturated (like sunflower oil) or saturated fats (like shea butter), assuming the total fat content and calories are the same. To maximize satiety from a high-fat meal, consider using polyunsaturated fats.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Subjects consumed significantly more energy during the whole test day when they had consumed the lunch containing fat A [oleic blend] than when they had consumed the lunch containing fat C [stearic-oleic blend]... Overall, the results of these short-term studies indicate that PUFA may exert a relatively stronger control over appetite than MUFA and SFA.
Clare Lawton et al. · British Journal Of Nutrition · 2000

Why this rating

Randomized controlled trials with within-subjects design, though short-term (1-2 days) and small sample size (n=20 per study).

Source

The degree of saturation of fatty acids influences post-ingestive satiety

Clare Lawton et al. · British Journal Of Nutrition · 2000

DOI 10.1017/s000711450000060x

crossover · n=40Cited 209×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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