A new study provides scientific proof that if you eat slowly, you will eat less -- and you will enjoy the meal more.
Dr. Melanson decided to conduct the study when she learned that no research existed to support the claim that eating slower reduces appetite. The study included 30 young women who would eat a meal of pasta with tomato sauce, topped with Parmesan cheese, under two different scenarios. In the first scenario, study participants were given a large spoon and told to eat as quickly as possible. In the other scenario, participants ate with a small spoon, which they put down after each bite, and were told to take small bites and chew each bite 15 to 20 times. When eating quickly, the women took in an average of 646 calories in 9 minutes. But when they slowed down, they consumed 579 calories in 29 minutes. The women rated eating slowly as more pleasant.
Dr. Melanson surmised that someone who ate 3 leisurely meals might consume 210 fewer calories a day than someone who wolfed those meals down. At that rate, you could conceivably lose 1 pound every 16 days for doing nothing more than slowing down. Sounds like my kind of weight loss routine.
