The Faster You Eat, The More You Weigh?

Yet another study has found an association between the speed at which we eat and our weight. In this study, published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers found that people who ate the quickest were more likely to be obese than slow eaters.

And the faster people ate, the more their body mass index (BMI, a ratio of weight to height) rose -- 2.8 percent for each "step" increase on the five-step eating-speed scale (equivalent to an extra 4.3 pounds), researchers found.

This is certainly not the first research that linked the way we eat with how much we weigh. A study published earlier this year showed that eating with a bigger fork was associated with eating less food, TIME reported. And a 2008 Japanese study showed that people who eat quickly have a tripled risk of being overweight than people who eat slowly, according to the Daily Mail.

"However, we had been surprised at the strength of the association" in the new study, researcher Caroline Horwath, a professor at the University of Otago, told Reuters. "We hadn't expected the effect to be as large."

Researchers looked at 1,600 New Zealand women, ages 40 to 50. The women self-rated how fast they ate. They also provided health, age, weight and lifestyle data. Half of these women said they ate at normal speeds, while 32 percent said they were fast eaters and 15 percent said they were slow eaters, Reuters reported.

Next, researchers will do a two-year check up on these women to see if their eating speed is a predictor of how much weight they'll gain in the future, The New Zealand Herald reported.

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Comments

[AngryTrainerFit]

03:10 PM on 09/04/2011

People, stop looking for reasons and excuses for obesity. The answer is simple - earting too much food and being inactive - period. Eat slow, eat fast, who cares? Ultimately it's HOW MUCH you eat that determines your mass. If I'm in a rush, I may eat fast, if I'm relaxed or socializing, it may be slower. Either way, we need to teach and learn portion control, not speed control.

www.angrytrainerfitness.com

[NotEve]

12:53 PM on 09/05/2011

The speed at which someone eats is directly related to satiety. It takes approximately 20 minutes to feel full, so someone who eats quickly will tend to eat more before feeling full - and therefor tend to gain more wgt over time. So speed control is directly related to portion control.

There are many factors that influence wgt gain. A better understanding of them enables us to better tailor wgt-loss and lifestyle strategies to a particular individual to maximize success with wgt loss / maintenance.

As a trainer I would think this would be a concept that you would understand, you'd certainly be doing yourself - and your clients- a favor by getting a better understanding of these issues.

The Diane Rehm show had an excellent discussion of this topic on July 11th: http://thedianerehmshow.org/topic/health?page=1

[nycconsultant]

10:56 AM on 09/04/2011

I wonder if eating fast may reduce the effectiveness of digestion of carbs in the mouth (since there is less time for the mucus to mix with whatever you're eating). If that happens will the only partially processed carbs have a tendency to be converted to fat (in the small intestine) instead of into energy?

[NotEve]

01:03 PM on 09/05/2011

The amylase in saliva begins the digestion process, but does not play such a critical role as to prevent absorption of those carbohydrates. The efficiency of the stomach and intestines for breaking down and absorbing the carbs more than makes up for reduced chewing time.

The reason that fast eating is relevant is becuase of satiety. It takes the same amoutn of time to feel full regardless of how fast you eat, so someone who eats quickly eats more before they feel full.

The conversion of fat vs energy has more to do with one's energy expenditure and basal metabolic rate (BMR), (simplistically) calories not burned as energy are stored as fat.

[Roan Badger]

10:20 PM on 09/03/2011

When I was in junior high me and another kid would see who could eat the fastest and get back in line for seconds. I still eat very fast. I am 6 foot and the most I have ever weighed is 155. And I am getting old now.

It's not how fast you eat, its what you do during the day. The faster you eat, the faster you can get back outside and get to work.

[kartweeler]

09:59 PM on 09/03/2011

No one has mentioned bite sizes. Smaller bites can help, because you don't eat as much in the same amount of time.

[ThinkCreeps]

09:04 PM on 09/03/2011

I bet they'd get a better correlation if they compared the weight of food eaten rather than the speed.

[ThinkCreeps]

09:02 PM on 09/03/2011

Only in the sense that to reach 500lb you have to hurry along with the eating - that lard isn't going to jump down your gullet on its own, y'all know.

[TheSardonicAtheist]

08:21 PM on 09/03/2011

I'm quite a faster eater, and I'm not overweight. The only difference is that I know how to say enough is enough. I'm not big on desserts so that's probably one factor. I guess when that's why they say, enjoy the metabolism while you can.

[lostlittlewoman]

08:55 PM on 09/03/2011

IT IS SOOOO TRUE THAT IT DOES MATTER HOW U EAT THAT MAKES U GAIN WEIGHT, I AM A 53 YR OLD WOMAN AND A VEGETARIAN ALSO, I EAT HEALTHY I EAT SLOWLY MYSELF, SO WHAT IF IT TAKES A WHILE, UR STOMACH HAS TO HAVE TIME TO DIGEST WHAT U HAVE ALREADY EATEN, IF U EAT FAST UR BOUND TO POSSIBLY GAG AND MAYBE GET NAUSEADED AND THROW UP, SO YES IT DOES MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE TO HOW U EAT THAT WILL MAKE U GAIN WEIGHT, I AM ALSO A HOME HEALTH AIDE,. I LIVE IN SARASOTA FLA, I WAS ALMOST A 160 POUNDS AND LOST A TOTAL OF 52 POUNDS WENT DOWN TO BETWEEN A 108-111 I STILL MAINTAIN TODAY AND EXERCISE AND STILL EAT SLOW. I HAVE SWITCH TO EATING SOY FOODS AND NO RED MEAT, I GET MY PROTEIN FROM PEANUT BUTTER AND BEANS AND EGG BEATERS, I HAVE CUT OUT ANY SWEET CANDY. I EAT FRESH FRUIT AND CANNED VEGGIES AND FRESH VEGGIES, THE SOY IS REALLY GOOD I HAVE BEEN EATING IT FOR 5 YRS NOW, MY HEALTH AND WEIGHT IS GOOD BECAUSE OF IT. SO IF YOU ARE TRYING TO LOOSE WEIGHT TAKE IT FROM ME, EATING SLOW IS A LOT BETTER THAN EATING FAST, BETTER FOR UR HEART TOO..

[dublingirl]

07:58 PM on 09/03/2011

This study doesn't ring true for me at all. I have eaten quickly all my life; don't know why, but I just tend to eat very fast and I have always been thin. My sister, on the other hand, is a sloooooowwww eater. Takes her forever. And she is obese. I also have other friends who eat slowly and are overweight. I think much of it has to do with activity level and metabolism. I'm not sure about the whole "your brain needs 20 minutes to tell your stomach it is full" thing. I eat quickly and get full quickly also.

[NotEve]

01:11 PM on 09/05/2011

There are MANY factors that influence wgt gain and wgt maintanance. How quickly someone eats is just one of them.

As for the feeling of fullness (satiety), the reason is because of a complex messaging system that relies on various signalling pathways.

Here's a pretty good explanation: http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/why-eating-slowly-may-help-you-feel-full-faster-20101019605

[bn366]

06:50 PM on 09/03/2011

I'm not sure this is legit. Maybe the people that eat faster are hungrier? They are going to eat more anyways?

[lilliefaerie]

06:46 PM on 09/03/2011

Ina word, no. In high school I used to have like 10 minutes to chow. I ate tons, often and weighed95-98 pounds.Same when working. Ididn't gain until my forties,after cancer, surgeries and a thyroid that petered out. So, age, abrupt menopause, radical body change and healing,and doctors aways saying now is not the time to loose weight,I gained. Metabolism- becomming a slub or having a sluggish thyroid, how we think when we eat-thinking this is really good, rather than this will make me fat, loosing all the get up and go from lifw events. All can contribute to making one a chunk. Yes it can be the brain forgets signals to stop the hunger through aquick chow, but it is the thoughts of what you put in your mouth that can create poor mental image and hold on to those calories. Those whoeat fast have another agenda-work school obligations, a date, anything. Sitting and eating, should be appreciated, smelling each morsel and detecting its subtlties, but when time is of essence, usually the food will be burned and is nota worry.

[nahtanbueno]

06:19 PM on 09/03/2011

Really, you eat faster and gain weight faster....only if your already fat and don't exercise. So it's 8:00 in the evening, have another bag of chips, or maybe some icecream..........

[damomb01]

06:09 PM on 09/03/2011

I was overweight in my teen years at 5'4" and 170#. I would often skip meals, but I was active in sports. I don't remember specifically, but I very likely overate to compensate for when I skipped a meal...Now I eat all day long. Breakfast, followed by a healthy about snack two hours later, and again two hours after that. The thing to remember too is that protein helps to stabilize blood sugar, which in turn will help you to feel less hungry. I have managed (with an appropriate diet & physical exercise) to keep off nearly 40 pounds of my former high school weight...and that's also after three children with one more on the way! Good luck to all of you trying to lose...don't EVER give up!

[Lovekaley2006]

05:58 PM on 09/03/2011

its all about what you eat and how much cardio you do. if you are a lazy person that eats burger king and woofs down the food it has more to do with what you are eating and lack of exercise. if you do 5-7 hours of cardio a week (which is pretty easy to accomplish) and eat healthy then how fast you eat will have NOTHING to do with anything. GET OFF THE COUCH!!!

[metalsmithgirl71]

05:51 PM on 09/03/2011

why is this a shock? the fast you eat, the more you eat.

[helenSari]

05:47 PM on 09/03/2011

Makes sense. The faster you eat the more you eat before your stomach tells your brain that it is full. The more you eat, the more you might gain. It's not so much the speed, it's the amount of food you consume in that time.

[nahtanbueno]

06:24 PM on 09/03/2011

I know that the kids in our rural school and several others in our area have less than 5% who are overweight, but go to the city schools and the number is close to 35%. So is it really fast eating or the lazy factor?????????