Acceptance of textured soybean protein in Indonesian dishes and its effects on energy in overweight women

Background and purpose: The problem of overweight and obesity has beenincreasing in Indonesia year by year as well as in the rest of the world; it is commonlycaused by an unhealthy diet from excessive lipid intake. Increasing fiber intake from plantbased foods is known to control lipid absorption. Meat-like soybean product, TexturedSoybean Protein (TSP), is made by extracting oil from soybeans and turning it into drymeat-like textured soybean which is rich in fiber, low in oil, and a high-quality proteinsource. In this study, TSP was substituted for meat in popular Indonesian meat dishes andits overall acceptance and effect on health with daily consumption were observed.Methods: The study was divided into two section: Section A, the overall acceptance of TSPdishes and Section B, the effects of including one TSP dish in the daily food intake ofoverweight women. In Section A, the subjects (n=17), who were all housewives, sampled5g of four TSP types with 20 dishes in total and scored the overall taste of the dishes. TheHedonic 5-point scale was used to score overall taste. In Section B, the subjects (n=25), alloverweight housewives, consumed one dish of 50g TSP daily for 3 consecutive weeks.Nutrition surveys using 3-day-24-hour recall methods were conducted at the baseline andfinal for dietary changes during the period of daily TSP consumption. Subjects’ tolerancefor and opinion of the new foods were assessed by a questionnaire at the final. Results: Instudy Section A, the average overall taste of TSP dishes was scored: Sliced Chicken 3.6,Minced Chicken 4.4, Sliced Beef 4.7, and Minced Beef 4.4. The overall evaluations wereconsidered better than Good (above 4) with no significant differences found among thefour types of TSP (p>0.05). In study Section B, 20 subjects completed the study. Therewere significant decreases in total energy and lipid intakes and significant increases inprotein and fiber intakes (p<0.001). Questionnaire results shows that 70% of subjects feltsatisfied during the study, 80% felt 50g/day was an appropriate daily amount, and 85% hadno problem during the 21days of consumption. Conclusion: TSP dishes were well acceptedoverall by Indonesian women; TSP could be used as a meat substitute, could supply moreprotein and fiber, and could decrease energy and lipid intakes in overweight women.