It Pays to Slow Down When You’re Eating

Hey, slow down there cowpoke. Take a deep breath. Eat slowly. It could save you some extra pounds around your waistline.

Japanese research suggests that eating your meals too fast can almost double the weight you gain. It all goes back to your stomach signaling to your brain, “Hey, enough already!”. If you eat slowly, you will eat less by the time your brain finally figures it out.

“If you eat quickly you basically fill your stomach before your gastric feedback has a chance to start developing – you can overfill the thing,” says Professor Ian McDonald, from the University of Nottingham in the UK.

“The old wives’ tale about chewing everything 20 times might be true – if you did take a bit more time eating, it could have an impact.”

There’s more on the study over at the BBC’s website.

As I write this, I am chomping on those little cheddar flavored goldfish. Not only are they an unhealthy snack, but I am eating them way too fast.