14 DAY TRIAL // Many nutritionists and medical experts have previously advised people not to gobble food while having a meal, but to eat it slowly, to pause between bites and chew each mouthful for more than 10 times. However, no study has confirmed until recently that slowly eating is the most appropriate way of consuming food and no report has pointed down important reasons for which people should avoid all plateful in a grasp.
The first research to confirm that everyone should learn to eat slowly every meal, as this way of eating boosts satiety faster and consequently leads to a lower calorie intake, has been recently carried out by a team of researchers at the University of Rhode Island. Lead researchers of the study Kathleen Melanson, Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Food Science at the University pointed out: "It started in about 1972 as a hypothesis that eating slowly would allow the body time for the development of satiety (fullness) and we would eat less. Since then we've heard it everywhere and it has become common knowledge. But no studies had been conducted to prove it."
Indeed, the overall results of the current study showed that an individual who eats slowly, pauses between bites and chews more times the mouthful is considerably more likely to consume a lower amount of food and less calories than a counterpart who eats very quickly. This is due to the fact that the feeling of satiety does not reach brain 'spots' which let stomach know that it is full immediately, it takes longer for fullness signals to develop.
The trial was conducted on 30 women who were asked to eat a plate of pasta in different days and at 'different speeds'. The team found that when women ate quickly and as much pasta as they wanted, they got full in 9 minutes and consumed 646 calories. On the other hand, when women were asked to eat slowly, they spent 29 minutes to consume 579 calories.
The findings of the research have been presented by research intern Ana Andrade at the annual meeting of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity which was held in October this year. Prof. Kathleen Melanson concluded: "Satiety signals clearly need time to develop. Not only did the women take in fewer calories when they ate more slowly, they had a greater feeling of satiety at meal completion and 60 minutes afterwards, which strongly suggests benefits to eating more slowly."