Eat slowly to cut flab?

–  Posted By Pillscribe

As children (or even as grown-ups), we have been told many a time that food should be taken in slowly. Hurrying with food could be dangerous as there is always a chance that food particles get lurked in the wind pipe. Therefore, everyone needs to have food more leisurely, relishing each and every item and spending enough time to chew it properly before downing.

The age-old practice of slow eating seems to have been accepted to be sacrosanct principle in the modern scientific age, as well. This is especially so for those who want to shed some excess weight.

People who consume food slowly could significantly curb their calorie intake and thereby mitigating the risk of getting obese, shows a recent study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

The researchers carried out the experiment in a small group of people, which was a mix of both normal-weight and obese or overweight participants. All of them were given an opportunity to eat a meal under relaxed and then in a fast-speed environment. The slow meal was spread over an average of 22 minutes per meal. The average fast-meal time was about nine minutes.

Naturally, all participants consumed less food when eating slowly. But after eating a slow meal they felt less hungry compared to a fast meal.

Significantly, only the normal weight people actually reduced their calorie intake significantly when eating more slowly.  They were found to consume 88 fewer calories when eating slowly. By contrast, the overweight group had only a 58-calorie reduction during the slow-eating session.

Overall, the obese/overweight group actually consumed less food during both the sessions than the normal-weight group.

“One possible reason [for the calorie drop seen] may be that slower eating allows people to better sense their feelings of hunger and fullness,” said Meena Shah, a professor in the department of kinesiology at Texas Christian University, in Fort Worth and the study author.