Myth or fact: Eating slowly either prevents getting fat or causes weight loss in those who are already obese.
“Put the fork down between bites” is a common piece of advice when it comes to weight loss efforts.
“Chew slowly” is another one, told to obese people or those wanting to lose smaller amounts of excess weight.
Does slowing down one’s intake of food during meals or snacks really help with weight loss?
Some people swear that this has helped in their weight management. But what about studies on this concept?
Actually, studies have shown that people who eat more slowly tend to consume less food overall. This can assist with weight management.
But specific guidelines on how to slow down eating have not been created — perhaps until now.
This gap in guidelines is particularly evident in Japan, where eating habits are different from those in Western countries.
A Study Was Done
To address this, a team of researchers led by Professor Katsumi Iizuka from Fujita Health University in Japan set out to examine factors that affect meal duration and eating behavior.
Their study explored variables such as chewing patterns, and also looked at external rhythmic stimuli, such as clicking sounds, to understand how these factors influence eating habits.
The study involved 33 healthy participants 20 to 65, who were asked to eat slices of pizza under various conditions. The following were measured.
- Meal duration
- Number of chews
- Number of bites
- Speed of chewing
The researchers noted how these variables changed when the participants listened to different metronome rhythms through headphones.
A metronome is a device that produces a clicking sound at a uniform rate.
The Results
There were notable differences in eating behaviors between men and women.
On average, women took longer to eat their meal, with an average duration of 87 seconds, compared to 63 seconds for men.
Women also chewed more, averaging 107 chews compared to 80 chews for men, and took more bites (4.5 bites versus 2.1).
However, the rate of chewing (tempo) was similar between both genders.
When the data was adjusted for sex differences, it was shown that meal duration was linked to the number of bites and chews — but not to body mass index (BMI) or the speed at which participants chewed.
When participants were exposed to a slow metronome of around 40 beats per minute, their meal duration increased significantly compared to when they ate without the clicking tempo beat.
Perhaps the slow tempo of a clicking sound made the participants more relaxed, causing a longer time with their meal.
This may make you think about eating all your meals in a room where you can’t hear your clock ticking.
Guidelines from the Study
- Increase the number of chews per bite.
- Take smaller bites (which naturally leads to more bites per meal).
- Create a slower eating environment using calming music or rhythmic cues.
These strategies may work for some people, but the study didn’t show what percentage of people, on a very large scale, could actually stick to these guidelines.
Chewing more slowly and taking smaller bites would be impractical for foods that don’t retain heat well and lose their palatability when they lose heat, such as fish, toast, eggs, pancakes, vegetables and soup (smaller spoonfuls and more time in between spoonfuls).
In fact, many foods are enjoyed most when they’re eaten at a higher degree of heat, such as pizza, chicken dishes, pasta, casserole, mashed potatoes and rice.
The slower eating method would be more practical with cold or room temperature foods such as sandwiches, vegetable and pasta salads, cake, yogurt and conventional snacks such as munchies, cookies and candy.
Although the researchers acknowledge the need for further studies using different foods beyond pizza to confirm these findings, this study provides valuable evidence that could be applied right away in obesity prevention efforts — for adults and kids.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified by the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness, where she was also a group fitness instructor, she trained clients of all ages and abilities for fat loss and maintaining it, muscle and strength building, fitness, and improved cardiovascular and overall health.
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