When I saw the title of this study, I had two questions:
- Why would anyone do a study like this? (OK, in short-term studies, consuming water or soup before meals reduces immediate calorie consumption, but in the long term?)
- Who paid for it? (Getting the answer to this one took some digging).
The study: Association between soup consumption and obesity: A systematic review with meta-analysis. M.Kuroda and K. Ninomiya. Physiology & Behavior, Volume 225, 15 October 2020, 113103.
Conclusion: “soup consumption is significantly related to lower odds ratio of obesity…suggesting that soup consumption was inversely correlated with a risk of obesity.”
Competing interests: “The authors declare no conflicts of interest.”
- Motonaka Kuroda: Institute of Food Sciences & Technologies, Ajinomoto Co., Inc., Kawasaki, Japan
- Kumiko Ninomiya: Umami Information Center, Non-Profit Organization, Tokyo, Japan
Bingo!
Ajinomoto mainly makes frozen foods, but also sells soup stocks. It is best known for making MSG (mono-sodium glutamate), an ingredient in most commercial soups.
MSG conveys umami, the fifth taste.
The Ajinomoto website says: “To read further about Umami, please visit the Umami Information Center.”
Who, you might wonder, funds the “non-profit” Umami Information Center? Here’s how the site answers that question.
Q.
What is the financial source of the Umami Information Center?A. UIC is financed by membership fee and donation from a food industry.
Want to take bets on what company is meant by “a food industry?”
My take on this: in effect, both authors work for Ajinomoto, a company with a strong commercial interest in demonstrating the health benefits of MSG.
Do the authors have conflicted interests in this study? It sure looks that way.