Development of Rich&Creamy Melt Cooking Blend for Taste, Nutrition, Oxidative Stability and Reducing Childhood Obesity

The general problem: In the United States today, the health consequences associated with childhood and adolescent obesity are projected to produce the first decline in life expectancy since the Great Depression. More than 23 million children and adolescents are overweight or obese. The role of fat in the diet: Low-fat diets have been advocated to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and have been enforced in most calorie-reducing regimens. However, researchers have reevaluated this guidance in recent years on several grounds: 1) Low-fat diets can lead to vitamin deficiency because fat-soluble vitamins, particularly vitamin D, are found only in the fatty (or oily) part of food. 2) Moderate amounts of saturated fat are needed to increase the bio-availability of fat-soluble nutrients. 3) Dietary fat promotes satiation, slowing digestion by triggering the release of the satiety hormone cholecystokinin and controlling the metabolism of carbohydrates. For children, dietary fat is required to support physical and psychological changes during growth and maturation. While too much fat in the diet increases dietary energy density and may compromise weight loss, too little fat results in nutritional deficiencies and feelings of hunger that can lead to overeating. In summary, moderate amounts of carefully balanced dietary fat are critical for healthy, sustainable weight loss in obese children. Medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) and oil blends containing MCFAs have received considerable attention for their ability to increase energy expenditure and for their potential application in reducing abdominal obesity. At 6 to 12 carbons long, MCFAs are readily oxidized in the liver, which leads to greater energy expenditure (EE) via enhanced thermogenesis. Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) are obtained from food sources (e.g., coconut oil) and are typically concentrated forms of caprylic and capric MCFAs through lipid fractionation. The potential for MCT blends to increase energy expenditure (EE) has been noted among adult subjects with effective dosages as low as 5 g. However, no studies have investigated potentially effective dosage levels for obese children. This study is for producing an organic baking fat that will increase EE in obese children and 1) assist with weight management; 2) reduce risk of metabolic syndrome in obese children and adolescents; 3) resist oxidation; 4) is appropriate for baking and one-time sauteing ; 5) offer at least 225mg of n-3 PUFAs per serving; and 6) provide oxidative stability and radical scavenging activity without using synthetic fats or preservatives. The results of this study will be used to develop a unique non-butter baking stick based on Rich & Creamy Melt Organic, a commercially available product in the U.S. (www.meltbutteryspread.com). A cooking version of Melt fills an unaddressed need in the marketplace. All non-butter cooking sticks (but one) contain partially hydrogenated oils. The exception is a cooking stick manufactured by Earth Balance, whose dominant ingredients are soybean and canola oils, which are highly unstable in heat and thus are inappropriate for baking and sauteing.