'Phantom Diet' A New Diet Trend That Tricks the Body Into Being Full

There are countless diet tips that are slowly becoming a trend, but most of them would usually do more harm than good. A new diet trend emerged wherein "Phantom Fullness" is being induced.

A new diet which was published in the American Journal of Food Nutrition mentioned that fullness is one of the factors that determines a person's satisfaction when it comes to food consumption. It was highlighted that one's fullness is one of the major indicators if the person is satisfied with what he/she consumed.

The "Phantom Fullness" is a diet fad that tricks the mind into thinking that it is already full. The small study involved 15 men who were given milkshakes. The only difference with what they were served however is the shake's thickness.

The 100 calorie milkshake was served with the different thickness level than that of the 500 calorie shake, which was served thinner. They came into conclusion that the 100 calorie shake was scored as the one which made the individual fuller compared to the 500 calorie shake which was thinner.

"Our results show that increasing the viscosity is less effective than increasing the energy density in slowing gastric emptying," the researcher wrote in regards to the conclusion of their study.

The Science of Us then added that "phantom fullness" is the sensation that a person gets wherein he/she is tricked that he/she is full despite ingesting empty calories. Fullness is said to play an important role when it comes to food consumption as it has a greater satisfactory effect compared to counting calories.

Though the food's consistency is being highlighted, it was mentioned that the results still lack the efficiency of the empty calorie diet. The "phantom calorie" diet is still not proven to be healthy as it still needs further research.

"However, the viscosity is more important to increase the perceived fullness," the researchers added. "These results underscore the lack of the satiating efficiency of empty calories in quickly ingested drinks such as sodas. The increase in perceived fullness that is due solely to the increased viscosity, which is a phenomenon that we refer to as phantom fullness, may be useful in lowering energy intake."