Study Finds Cottonseed Oil May Support Healthy Appetite Regulation

A new study from the University of Georgia shows diets enriched with cottonseed oil may help support healthy appetite regulation in adults at risk for cardiovascular disease.¹ The study, published in the 2026 issue of Physiology & Behavior, found participants consuming cottonseed oil-enriched diets — at levels as low as 10% of their daily energy needs — reported feeling less hungry and more full throughout the day compared to those on a control diet formulated to match the fat profile of a typical American diet.¹

The 28-day feeding trial, conducted by University of Georgia researchers including Cottonseed Oil Advisory Council Member Dr. Jamie Cooper, tested three doses of cottonseed oil (10%, 20%, and 30% of daily energy needs) against a control oil blend in 91 adults with elevated cholesterol or overweight/obesity. Across all three doses, participants reported significantly less hunger and greater fullness than the control group, and improvements in overall appetite scores at the lowest and middle doses were large enough to be considered clinically meaningful.¹

“What’s particularly encouraging about these findings is that we saw meaningful improvements in appetite regulation even at the lowest doses tested,” said Jamie Cooper, Ph.D., University of Georgia. “That’s an important distinction from our earlier work, which relied on much higher levels of cottonseed oil. It suggests cottonseed oil could support healthy eating patterns without requiring people to make dramatic changes to their overall fat intake.”

The findings build on Dr. Cooper’s earlier work with cottonseed oil, including a 2022 study finding that cottonseed oil-enriched diets improved fasting and postprandial blood lipids in adults with high cholesterol.²

Because the study focused on adults at risk for cardiovascular disease, the results cannot be generalized to other populations, and further research is needed to determine whether similar appetite responses occur across broader populations.

Read the full study, “Appetite Responses to Different Doses of Cottonseed Oil in Adults at Risk of Cardiovascular Disease,” in Physiology & Behavior. This research was funded by Cotton Incorporated, which had no role in the study’s design or implementation, data analysis or interpretation, or preparation of the findings.