Slow Eating may Reduce Hunger but not Calorie Intake

Written by Honor Whiteman

Previous studies suggest that eating speed may affect how many calories the body consumes. But new research suggests that eating speed, rather than caloric intake, may have more of an impact on hunger suppression. This is according to a study published in theJournal of the cademy of !utrition and "ietetics. #nvestigators from the "epartment of $inesiology at Te%as &hristian 'niversity say that previous research has mainly analy(ed the link between calorie intake and eating speed in individuals of a healthy weight. But this new study looked at the relationship between eating speed and energy intake in )* overweight and obese individuals and compared the results with )* individuals of a healthy weight.

!ew research suggests that eating slowly may reduce hungerbut may not have a significant impact on calorie intake. Both groups were re+uired to consume one meal a day within a controlled environment over , days. Both meals were the same for each group, and the energy content -calories. and weight of each meal were measured prior to consumption. /or one meal, both groups were asked to eat at a slow pace. "uring this meal, they were asked to imagine they had time constraints in which to finish, to take small bites, thoroughly chew their meal and pause and set down their cutlery between bites. /or the other meal, both groups were asked to eat their food at a fast pace. They were asked to imagine they had to finish their meal within a certain time frame, take large bites, chew +uickly and to not put down their cutlery between bites. 0low eating 1may reduce hunger1

2esults of the study revealed that both groups felt less hungry an hour after the slow3eating condition, compared with the fast3eating condition. "r. 4eena 0hah, lead author of the study, e%plains5 6#n both groups, ratings of hunger were significantly lower at 78 minutes from when the meal began during the slow compared to the fast3eating condition. These results indicate that greater hunger suppression among both groups could be e%pected from a meal that is consumed more slowly.6 Both groups also demonstrated a higher water consumption throughout the slow3eating condition, with 9, ounces of water consumed, compared with : ounces throughout the fast3eating condition. "r. 0hah says the higher consumption of water during the slow3eating condition may have caused stomach distention in the participants and therefore may have affected the level of food consumption. !o impact on calorie intake for obese group However, when analy(ing the participants1 calorie intake, the researchers found that only the sub;ects of a healthy weight saw a reduction in calorie intake after consuming the meal in the slow3eating condition. The obese<overweight group ate *= calories less, while the normal weight group ate == calories less. 6 lack of statistical significance in the overweight and obese group may be partly due to the fact that they consumed less food during both eating conditions compared to the normal3weight sub;ects,6 says "r. 0hah. 0he adds that the overweight and obese participants may have felt self3conscious during the meal, and so it is possible that this may have caused them to eat less. ccording to the &enters for "isease &ontrol and Prevention -&"&., more than one3third of the '0 adult population is obese. >besity rates have increased from 9?.*@ of the '0 population in 9:A93A? to )*.:@ of the population in ,88:398. "r. 0hah notes that with obesity rates continuing to rise, information on how individuals of a different weight approach and consume food may help in the development of strategies to reduce calorie intake. But she says that findings from this study show that slowing the speed of eating 6may help to lower energy intake and suppress hunger levels and may even enhance the en;oyment of a meal.6 4edical !ews Today recently reported on a study detailing the discovery that nerves in the stomach may work like a clock, limiting food intake to specific times of the day.

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