Eat slowly and enjoy your food to keep the weight off
Scoffing your food too quickly increases the risk of becoming overweight, research suggests. A study of 60,000 people found those who ate slowly were 42 per cent less likely to be overweight than fast eaters. The research, published in the journal BMJ Open, also found eating evening meals at least two hours before going to bed cut the risk of being overweight by 10 per cent.
A study of 60,000 people found those who ate slowly were 42 per cent less likely to be overweight than fast eaters
Experts believe chewing slowly, savouring every mouthful and taking time over a meal could be a successful weight-loss strategy.
This is because it takes some time – roughly 20 minutes – for the brain to receive the message that the stomach is full.
So fast eaters keep on gobbling down their food well after they have had enough food.
The researchers, from Kyushu University in Japan, wrote: ‘Fast eaters may continue to eat until they feel full despite having already consumed an adequate amount of calories, and the combined effect of eating quickly and overeating may contribute to weight gain.
“In contrast, eating slowly may help to increase feelings of satiety before an excessive amount of food is ingested.”
The team, who tracked participants for six years, also found fast eaters had waist sizes a quarter of an inch (0.62cm) larger than slow eaters. The researchers found that of the 60,000 participants, 22,070 people routinely wolfed down their food, 33,455 ate at a normal speed, and 4,192 classed themselves as slow eaters.
They wrote: “Interventions aimed at reducing eating speed may be effective in preventing obesity and lowering the associated health risks.’ The team also found people who ate their evening meal at least two hours before they went to bed three times a week were 10 per cent less likely to be overweight, which they defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of more than 25.
But skipping breakfast does nothing to decrease weight.The body’s metabolism slows down towards the end of the day, so eating too late means calories are not burned off. Scientists believe this is because the human body evolved to expect meals much earlier in the day, because in pre-industrial times people went to sleep when it got dark.
Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, said: ‘The speed at which a lot of people wolf down their food is undeniably a contributor to obesity.
“It takes fast eaters longer to feel full simply because they don’t allow time for the gut hormones to tell the brain to stop eating.
“Eating quickly also causes bigger blood sugar fluctuations which can lead to insulin resistance.”In particular, workers who snatch their lunch at the desk are doing their health no favours.
“They should stop what they’re doing, switch off their phones and emails and preferably take a half hour away from the office altogether.’
A previous study, by experts at North Carolina State University in the US, found ‘mindful eating’ – savouring every mouthful, concentrating on flavour and ‘eating with purpose’ – helped people lose six times as much weight as other slimmers.
The researchers behind that project encouraged people to remove all distractions while eating, including turning off the television at dinner time and not eating lunch at their desk.
They found overweight people who followed the ‘mindful eating’ mantra lost four and a half pounds (1.9kg) in 15 weeks, compared to other slimmers who lost just two thirds of a pound (0.3kg).
Impressively, six months after the trial stopped three quarters of participants in the mindfulness programme had kept their weight off or lost even more.
(C) Daily Mail, London