Eating Quickly Associated with Obesity and Overeating

The questionnaires displayed that nearly 51 percent of men and 58 percent of women claimed to have ate until fully satiated, and 45 percent of men and 36 percent of women claimed to eat their food rapidly. The study also discovered that for both men and women, individuals who reported eating until full and eating at a fast pace had the highest values for weight, body mass index and total energy intake, adjusted for age.

The researchers further adjusted for physical activity, fiber intake, alcohol consumption, smoking and physical activity and still found that eating rapidly made people made people fatter. Study leader, Hiroyasu Iso noted that, for patients who ate both quickly and until fully satiated, there was a “supra-additive” effect on their risk of being overweight.

People eat quickly generally for four reasons: First, food is inexpensive, readily accessible and present in larger portions. Second, fast food is always available. Third, eating a meal is no longer done together as a family. And fourth, eating is typically done while being distracted, such as while watching TV. Scientific observers speculated that a deliberate decrease in the rate of eating during mealtimes can decrease the amount of food consumed.

According to Ian McDonald of Nottingham University, some people fill their stomachs before their gastric feedback has a chance to start developing. It is possible to overfill the stomach. The old wives’ tale recommending a person to chew everything at least 20 times might hold merit. If you did take a bit more time eating, there would be a considerable impact. Thus, parents would be well-advised to encourage their children to eat at a slower pace, and when a child claims to be full, allow them to stop eating.

An additional study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism reveals further evidence that eating a meal quickly, as compared to slowly, curtails the release of hormones in the gut that induces feelings of being full. The decreased release of these hormones, can often lead to overeating.

According to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), eating a meal quickly, as compared to slowly, curtails the release of hormones in the gut that induce feelings of being full. The decreased release of these hormones, can often lead to overeating.

In the last several years, research involving gut hormones, such as peptide YY (PYY) and glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1), has shown that their release after a meal acts on the brain and induces fullness and desire to end the meal. Before this study, concentrations of appetite-regulating hormones have not been examined in the context of different rates of eating.

For this study, participants each ate the same test meal, 300ml of ice-cream, at different rates. Researchers took blood samples for the measurement of glucose, insulin, plasma lipids and gut hormones before the meal and at 30 minute intervals after initiating food consumption, until the end of the session, 210 minutes later. Researchers discovered that subjects who took the full 30 minutes to finish ice cream had higher concentrations of PYY and GLP-1 and also tended to have a higher fullness rating.

According to study author Alexander Kokkinos, MD, PhD, the findings help explain an aspect of modern-day food overconsumption, namely the fact that many people, pressed by demanding working and living conditions, eat rapidly and in greater amounts compared to the past. The warning we were given as children that wolfing our food down will make us fat may have a physiological explanation.