Why You Shouldn't Eat Quickly: The Explanation That Will Make You Chew Twice
The meal is in front of us, and within 2 minutes it's in our stomachs - does this sound familiar? What are the risks associated with fast eating, and how can you practice slowing down your eating pace? Details inside.
(Photo: shutterstock)According to an initial study presented at the American Heart Association conference in California, rapid eating significantly increases the risk of obesity, and even more so, developing metabolic syndrome (a medical condition linked to diabetes, heart attacks, and even strokes).
The study was conducted in Japan from 2008-2013 by Hiroshima University. In the study, about 1000 healthy participants with an average age of 51.2 were followed. The participants were asked to rate their eating speed based on criteria of slow, normal, and fast. The results of the study showed that 84 people were diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, with a strong correlation found with the effect of fast eating.
11.6% of those patients identified themselves as fast eaters. 6.5% reported eating at a normal pace, compared to 2.3% who reported eating slowly. Fast eaters had a larger waist circumference, suffered more from being overweight, and had higher blood sugar levels.
"When people eat quickly, they tend not to feel full, and they overeat. Fast eating causes bigger glucose fluctuations, which can lead to insulin resistance. We believe our study will also apply to the American population," explained Takayuki Yamaji, a cardiologist at Hiroshima University in Japan.
"These results are not particularly surprising," added cardiologist Nisa Goldberg, spokesperson for the Association of Heart Doctors. According to her, it is not new that fast eating is linked to obesity and other health problems. "Most likely, people who eat quickly also eat more. The reason is that you have no idea what you are eating. When you eat slowly, you are much more aware of what you are eating, you chew your food and slow down the digestion process - all of which contribute to a feeling of satiety."
Cardiologist Goldberg emphasizes that the length of time spent eating a meal should be about 30 minutes, and the worst is eating while working. "A half-hour break for eating is much better than ten minutes in front of your email," she said.
To slow down the pace of eating, training is necessary. According to Goldberg's recommendation, it is advisable to eat in company, chew more, cut the food into small pieces, take deep breaths, and last but not least, put the fork down between bites.
