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Slowing down when eating helps weight loss

It sounds simple: eat more slowly and stop eating when you no longer feel hungry. Such measures can considerably assist with weight control and with losing excess weight. This comes from a new study by Dr. Pedro Cabrales, who is based at the University of California in San Diego. The tendency to rush down meals also means that people are less likely to enjoy them.

The slow pace of eating is because the brain takes around 10 minutes to realise the stomach is full. This is why a good restaurant, probably without fully realizing why, will wait for a period of time before the sweet menu is offered.

The research was commissioned in an attempt to find ways to address the growing obesity epidemic in the U.S. Here studies have found obesity rates are nearing one fifth of all teenagers. Obesity brings with it risks of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

It seems, from Cabrales research, that eating TV dinners is the worst way to consume food because there is a tendency to repeatedly pile in food while distracted by the sounds and images coming from the screen.

The research, Science News reports, was based on an examination of 78 teenagers in Mexico (aged between 13 and 15 years.) The children were divided into two groups. The control group were allowed to eat as they would do at home. The test group had a 30-second stop watch and were told to eat slowly, timing how long they chewed food for. The study ran for the course of a year and it was found that those who were ‘time conscious’ lost weight; whereas the control group either gained weight or their weight remained stable.

Whether timing alone is sufficient remains an area that needs to be explored further. Other factors, like the types of food eaten, are certain to play a role, as is the level of exercise undertaken.

The research has been published in the journal Pediatric Obesity; with the research paper titled “Control of overweight and obesity in childhood through education in meal time habits. The ‘good manners for a healthy future’ programme.”

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Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, business, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.

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