The way you eat can make you fat

Holly Enriquez

Thursday, November 5, 2009

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Wolfing down your meal can restrict the release of "full" hormones in your gut, meaning you overeat, researchers in Athens have found.

In the study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 17 adult males were given 300ml of ice-cream and asked to consume it in five minutes on one occasion and on another, 30 minutes.

Blood samples to measure gut hormones were taken before the meal and in 30 minute intervals for a further two-and-a-half hours and the volunteers' "fullness" was also recorded, the UK's Daily Telegraph reported.

Researchers discovered that when volunteers took 30 minutes to eat the ice-cream they had higher concentrations of the satiety hormones PYY and GLP-1 and also felt "fuller" than when the dessert was scoffed

"Our study provides a possible explanation for the relationship between speed-eating and overeating by showing that the rate at which someone eats may impact the release of gut hormones that signal the brain to stop eating," lead researcher Dr Alexander Kokkinos told the Daily Telegraph.

"The warning we were given as children that 'wolfing down your food will make you fat' may in fact have a physiological explanation."

To ensure you avoid overeating, chew every mouthful thoroughly, which aids digestion, and put down your knife and fork between every bite.

GALLERY: Tips to acheive your weight-loss goal

Do you stop eating when you're full, or when your plate is empty? Comment below!

User comments

Both! I serve myself the amount I intend to eat, and eat it. It works for me.

Our parents always made sure that we sat down for dinner - the fast eaters invariably had to wait for everyone to finish before they left the table. Two hours later the fast eaters came back and made extra food because "they were hungry". The slow eaters only came back to have a drink.. The fast eaters were a fair bit chubbier. To the present - I have a husband thart is a fast eater - invariably he is morbidly obese, and also has health problems associated with it. I started out being a slow eater - now I alternate and find that when I eat to fast I am still looking for food to eat. Now I have a glass of water before I eat and find that helps - trying on clothes is a lot simpler now.

i eat pretty fast cause i hate my food cold and when you eat really slowly it is cold by the end

I think Chewing food properly helps with my digetsion. It also makes me feel full so i eat less. sugarfreefood.biz

As a child I was made to eat what was placed in front of me, if I didn't it was served up for breakfast the next day. It traoned my eatiing habits to only stop eating when my plate was empty. When I reached adulthood I realised that this wasnt necessary and modified my eating habits over time to eat just enough to satisfy my hunger. Until a medical condition placed me in the position of having to take prednisone (steroid) I was not overweight. This medication has caused me to become overweight and I eat much less food than before. The food I consume is healthy eg. salads, vegetables, fish, lean chicken and lean red meat however I have cut these portions to a very small serving. I enjoy my food more by taking time to eat rather than rushing it. My only problem now is to find a way to lose the kilos I have gained from the medication that I will be taking for the duration of my remaining years. Exercise would be great however spinal problems and rheumatoid arthritis prevent this.

I am a fast eatter, I didn't choose to be one. It started when I was very young. My mum would hurry us up otherwise we'll be late for school or because she needs to finish her work etc.. I've tried to eat slowly when there are people around, but in winter one has to hurry up otherwise you end up eating cold food..

I was a child of post World War II, and living in London. We had food and clothing rationing, and often food was scarce. We had to eat everything on our plates, or else somehow or other, it affected starving children in India, so it was a big guilt trip if you didn't eat everything! I got in the habit of eating everything I was given, so became a tubby child. A cousin took me in hand when I became a teenager, and monitored my intake, enabling me to become much slimmer and "normal". Jumping forward to living in Australia, married and with four kids, I tended to rush my food, so as I had time to jump up and feed everyone else and do all those things mum's have to do. Now I and my husband are retired. I give myself smaller portions, and am still usually the last to finish! I enjoy my food more, my weight has stabilized, and as I exercise regularly feel fitter and healthier than I ever did!

i usually stuff my face until i feel like im gonna vomit. but my bmi is 19, which i think its normal or quite thin

as children, my siblings and i were not to leave the table till everyone was finished, to chew each mouthful 20 times and appreciate the food, to practice table manners and dinner conversation, and to eat everything on the plate because the scraps i left would "feed an indian family for a week'. this meant that you would be left sitting at the table with nothing to do, not allowed to leave, if you scoffed your food too fast. im also grateful for having the table manners drummed into me as a child, because it is so unpleasent to eat with people who shovel food in and chew with their mouths open, let alone know what the fourth fork is for and which glass is intended for which beverage! it means meal times are so much more enjoyable as opposed to a quick refuelling. i wish more people were taught -and would use- manners as i believe it would make society a much nicer place! (by the way, i am 21, and my parents are very modern and funky, contrary to how they may sound above!)

i just cant help eating eating and eating more food

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