What Would You Be If You Eat Fast and Eat Until Full?

The pace of eating and the amount of food consumed vary among people. Some people eat slowly and modestly while some eat fast and eat until they are full.

Japanese researchers from Osaka University pointed out in their study, published online on October 22, 2008 in The British Medical Journal (BMJ), that the latter are 3 times more likely to grow fat compared with the former.

As we all know, once a person gets fatter, many unwanted medical ailments like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, etc. might just be developed.

1,122 men and 2,165 women aged between 30 and 69 were recruited for the study. These participants were asked to closely track their own eating habits and BMI (body mass index), which has been used as a benchmark of obesity.

The results showed that about half of the men and just over half of the women were reported that they ate until they were full, while just under half of the men and a little more than a third were found to eat quickly.

Participants who ate until they felt full were twice as likely to be overweight comparing to those who did not eat until full. For those who ate both quickly and to satiety were 3 times likelier to be overweight.

In the study, distinction was made between people who ate until full and those who reported binge eating. One interesting finding of the study was that those who ate until full had a higher calorie intake than those who gorged.

The act of eating quickly is a survival mechanism, according to health experts. Human beings are such creatures that tend to over consume energy when it is available. Such characteristic would frequently cause humans to consume more calories than they require, especially when the food is cheap and instantly available, and they also eat swiftly.

Nowadays, family members seldom have meals together either because of the long working hours or other reasons. When eating alone, people are more likely to enter into fast-eating mode. In the meantime, more and more people like to eat while watching television or doing other things. When people are distracted, there is a tendency to eat faster. Last but not least, people on the go mostly turn to fast food when it comes to mealtime. The increased availability of relatively cheap food that is served in larger portions also promotes eating beyond satiety.