Why Eat Slow to Lose Weight

Research offers scientific reasoning behind the diet tip to "eat slowly if you're trying to lose weight."

Researchers in Athens, Greece conducted a crossover study of 17 healthy adult males. The subjects were given 300 ml, or 675 calories' worth, of ice cream in two different settings. In one session, the subjects were asked to finish their serving of ice cream in five minutes. In the other session, the same subjects were instructed to allow a full 30 minutes to consume the same amount of ice cream.

Researchers took blood samples of the subjects at the beginning of each study to get a baseline reading. They took follow-up samples every 30 minutes until the end of each session. Blood samples continued to be taken up to 210 minutes after the beginning of each session. The study monitored the levels of ghrelin, PYY, and GLP-1 at each interval.

The study found that levels of PYY and GLP-1, two peptides that are responsible for making you feel full, were higher after the 30-minute meal than after the five-minute meal. There were no differences in the levels of ghrelin, a hormone responsible for hunger, although there was a trend for lower levels of the hormone after 120 minutes for the 30-minute meal group. This may suggest that eating slowly has less of an affect on feelings of hunger than the peptides that control satiety.

Leave a comment:
Your Name*:Email (private)*:
Please copy the characters from the image below into the text field below.
This helps us prevent automated submissions
Security Code:
CAPTCHA Image
Reload Image