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Eat Slow to Avoid Gaining Weight

Because only this way can satiety signals reach the brain in due time, study says

Nov 5, 2009 18:31 GMT  ·  By
Scarfing down food can lead to weight gain, researchers warn in light of new study
   Scarfing down food can lead to weight gain, researchers warn in light of new study

They don’t say “Enjoy your meal” for nothing. As health specialists have repeatedly pointed out and we also noted on a couple of past occasions, chewing food properly is the most certain way of savoring each dish, while also continuing to focus on health and, most importantly, preventing weight gain. As a new study cited by LiveScience also points out, chowing down can pack on the extra pounds in almost no time.

Although conducted on a very small number of subjects, the study reveals that it takes quite a few minutes for satiety signals to reach the brain, which happens too late in the case of a person who eats fast. That is to say, if we chow down our food without taking the proper time to chew it, our body learns only too late that it’s already full and we should have stopped one dish ago, experts state.

“Eating meals on the go may be unwise for those wanting to lose weight. New research reveals that scarfing down a lot of food, quickly, curbs the release of certain gut hormones that make you feel full. The result: Your body doesn’t get the memo that it’s time to stop dining and that may lead to overeating. That doesn’t bode well for our fast-paced lifestyles,” LiveScience writes on the findings of the study. Of course, overeating, combined with too little physical exercise, leads to piling on the extra pounds almost without noticing.

“Our findings give some insight into an aspect of modern-day food overconsumption, namely the fact that many people, pressed by demanding working and living conditions, eat faster and in greater amounts than in the past. The warning we were given as children that ‘wolfing down your food will make you fat,’ may in fact have a physiological explanation.” lead researcher of the new study, Dr. Alexander Kokkinos of Laiko General Hospital in Athens, Greece, says.

In order to prevent this, both the researchers in question and health experts in general recommend we take our time when sitting down for a meal. On average, it takes about 12 minutes for satiety signals to reach the brain of a thin individual, while that time is extended to 20 minutes in an obese person, the same publication reports. That is to say, if we eat in a shorter time than that, we’re more than likely to overeat.