Correlation Between Eating Too Quickly and Overeating

Obesity Epidemics and ‘Loss of Control’ Eating
It is becoming common knowledge that wealthy Western countries such as the USA are facing what is increasingly referred to as an ‘obesity epidemic’. A report published in the American Psychological Association’s Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology in 2007 made reference to a tripling in the prevalence of pediatric overweight issues in recent years – a development which may well have serious health implications for a new generation of Americans. As a major public health issue, making sense of why and how individuals become overweight is of pressing concern.

The researchers who wrote this report investigated the eating behaviors of 445 children and adolescents, and concluded that youths who experienced ‘Loss of Control’ (‘LOC’) eating episodes were significantly more at risk of obesity than others. Loss of Control eating was described to the youngsters as ‘like a ball running downhill’ in order to convey the sense that it is often experienced as an unstoppable phenomenon. As with adults who experienced it, the regular occurrence of LOC eating was associated with obesity and psychological distress (subjects felt ashamed and unhappy both about their behavior and their overweight appearance, negative emotions which in themselves contributed to further LOC eating episodes).

Clearly, finding ways of interrupting and preventing loss of control eating may be an important key to promoting healthy weight amongst both young and old alike. But just how is LOC eating associated with unhealthy weight gain? What physiological and hormonal responses might be involved?

Rapid Eating and Appetite Regulation
Research published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM) has indeed identified a possible physiological mechanism for LOC eating. Loss of control eating is associated with eating very quickly, and the rapidity of food ingestion is a key factor in weight gain. Eating too quickly leads to over-consumption rather than satiation, and there is a physical cause for the result: rapid food ingestion inhibits the secretion of hormones which are normally released when food enters the stomach – hormones which inform the brain that food satiation has been reached. In other words, these hormones effectively signal the brain to stop any further eating behavior. Two hormones in particular (Peptide YY and Glucagon-like Peptide-1) have been shown in previous studies to be associated with appetite regulation; they are released after eating and act on the brain to generate feelings of fullness and satisfaction. Eating behavior stops once the hormones have been activated.

The new study specifically considered the effect of different rates of eating on the release of appetite-regulating hormones. Subjects were all asked to eat the same meal (300ml of ice cream) but at different rates. Blood samples measuring the levels of plasma lipids, glucose, insulin and appetite-regulating hormones were taken before the meal and at intervals of 30 minutes after eating had commenced, ending at 210 minutes. Subjects who took a full 30 minutes to eat their ice cream showed significantly higher concentrations of both Peptide YY and Glucagon-like Peptide-1 as compared with those who ate much more quickly. Subjectively, the slower eaters also reported higher levels of food satiety.

Time to Slow Down
The researchers suggest that the high-technology, high-speed modern world we live in may be contributing to rapid eating: far more people are tempted to ‘snatch a quick bite’ while essentially on the move, rather than sitting down to a proper leisurely meal time. In a nutshell, it could well be that high pressure working conditions, which permit insufficient time to eat properly, are encouraging individuals to fall into a rapid eating pattern. The result is over-consumption and dissatisfaction, a lamentable combination that fosters further rapid over-consumption.

The implications of the research are actually rather pragmatic, provided there are no entrenched psychopathological factors contributing to over-consumption. Where eating is associated with desperate, ‘quick-fix’ counter-depressive measures, for example, the emotional issues may have to be addressed before (or alongside) the implementation of a practical eating strategy. But some simple practical measures can be identified.

Most importantly, the key message is: ‘Slow Down!’ Slowing down the pace of eating makes it considerably harder to overeat. Eating a meal little by little, pausing every now and then, allows the brain more time to receive the hormonal messages, enabling it to generate conscious feelings of fullness much more effectively (it is estimated that the stomach takes approximately 20 minutes from the commencement of eating to produce the appetite-regulating hormones).

Unlike rapid eating, slow eating has no adverse effects on health and will produce only positive health benefits, chiefly by significantly reducing the risk of obesity through over- consumption. Moreover, it fosters a different form of food enjoyment as compared to that of instantaneous re-fuelling: people begin to taste food more fully when they eat slowly, savoring and appreciating it, pleasures which not only encourage further slower eating but a desire to eat better quality food. Indirectly, a more leisurely pace of eating may restore a kind of social pleasure to eating – sitting down to a meal with friends or work colleagues is intrinsically more pleasurable than swallowing fast food between phone calls or while walking back to the office.

Finally, as everyone who has eaten too rapidly knows all too well, eating quickly predisposes individuals to unpleasant side-effects such as gastro esophageal reflux (or heartburn). In this instance, it truly is healthier to be slow.

Practical and straightforward though the ‘slow down’ message may sound, it does appear to fly in the face of powerful cultural trends. The speed of life appears to be increasing, not decreasing, and finding the brake pedal – even simply for a modestly leisurely lunch – may be much more difficult to institute in practice. It is likely to be more successfully if engaged in as a collective exercise, rather than an individual one. Recruiting just one friend or work colleague for lunch – even once or twice a week at the outset – is at least a beginning. And a small group might well establish a new culture.

Its all about eating the right stuff at the right pace. UltraFitnessDynamics