Teach kids to eat slowly
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Remember the old wives’ tale that everything should be chewed at least 20 times? Remember when our moms reprimanded us for “wolfing down” our food? However, don’t we sometimes wish that our kids would finish their plate and could just eat a little bit faster?
According to a recent study by Japanese researchers, people who eat fast have the tendency to be overweight. Men and women who are fast eaters are 84% and 50% (respectively) more likely to be overweight than those who consume their food at normal speed.
The reason for this, as Professor Ian McDonald to the University of Nottingham tells BBC, is the signaling system that tells the brain to stop eating when the stomach is full. If you eat too fast, the stomach is filled up before the gastric feedback signal kicks in so that the stomach can get overfilled.
There was a time when food was scarce and competition high so that eating fast had an evolutionary advantage. However, such a practice nowadays leads to obesity with serious health consequences. Scientists are therefore recommending that kids be encouraged to eat slowly and be allowed to stop when they feel they are full. (Mrs H, you were right when you wrote that “finish your plate” is not a good dining policy!). I hope I remember their recommendations next time I am tempted to say at the breakfast table “Eat quickly now or we’ll miss the bus!”
Based on this study, the terms “fast food” and “slow food” take a whole new meaning, although in the end the results are the same - extra pounds.
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