Middle- aged women who are quick in downing their meals are much more likely to be overweight or obese than women who eat slower
Washington
Ladies, please note – your eating speed is linked to your body weight, say re
searchers.
A new study by the University of Otago has found that middleaged women who eat slowly are much less likely to be overweight or obese than those who eat at a faster pace, the alt39 Journal of the American Dietetic Associationalt39 reported.
The researchers have analysed the relationship between self- reported speed of eating and body mass index ( BMI) in more than 1,500 New Zealand women aged between 40 and 50 to come to the conclusion.
Lead researcher Dr Caroline Horwath said that after adjusting for other factors including age, ethnicity, smoking, and menopause status, the study found that the faster women reported their eating speed to be, the higher their BMI. ” For every one- step increase in a five- step scale ranging from alt39 very slowalt39 eating to alt39 very fastalt39, the womens BMI increased by 2.8 per cent, which is equivalent to a 1.95 kg weight increase in a woman of average BMI for this group,” she said.
In the study, the researchers have been following up the women to see if faster eaters gain more weight over time.
” The size of the association found in this initial research suggests that if there is a causal link, reduction in eating speed is a very promising way to prevent weight gain and may lead to decreases in BMI similar or greater than those sustained in weight management programmes,” she said.
If analysis of the data confirms a causal relationship, Dr Horwath and her team will test interventions that include a focus on encouraging women to eat more slowly.
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