High fiber foods assist in weight loss and long-term weight maintenance by these mechanisms:     - require more chewing and take longer to eat     - provide fewer calories per serving     - create a sense of abdominal fullness     - enhance satiety between meals     - cause some wastage of calories     - decrease hunger and increase satiety between meals

Research studies indicate that obese individuals lose more weight when given high fiber supplements than with placebos. High-fiber, weight-reducing diets are especially effective in helping diabetic individuals lose weight.

Diabesity: is the term coined to describe the common concurrence of diabetes and obesity.

•	In the United States, Type II diabetes accounts for more than 97% of the diabetes seen and between 60-80% of Type II diabetic individuals are obese;
•	Approximately 9.9 million Americans suffer from "diabesity".
•	Increased intake of dietary fiber offers many advantages to obese diabetic individuals.
•	Both soluble and insoluble fiber may contribute to weight control.
•	Soluble fiber: slows gastric emptying, decreases mixing of foods and digestive enzymes in the small intestine, and is readily fermented to short-chain fatty acids in the colon.
•	Insoluble fiber: accelerates passage of food into the colon, decreases digestion time of foods, physically prevents interaction between digestive enzymes and nutrients, and produces a fullness throughout the gastrointestinal tract.

Benefits of High-Fiber Diets with Obesity

The benefits of high-fiber, weight-reducing diets for diabetic individuals are clear cut. These diets enable diabetic individuals to lose weight and maintain weight loss long-term. These diets also decrease blood glucose values, diminish need for oral hypoglycemic agents or insulin, lower blood pressure, and drop serum lipid values. Fiber supplements are documented to enhance weight loss with a hypocaloric diet. High fiber diets act mechanically, physiologically and chemically to decrease hunger and enhance between meal satiety. The benefits of high fiber intakes for weight maintenance are not established scientifically. In our clinical practice we encourage intake of at least five servings of vegetables or fruits daily. While our clinical experience tells us that this high fiber intake contributes to successful weight maintenance, we do not have scientific data to support this impression.