"Interventions aimed at reducing eating speed may be effective in
preventing obesity and lowering the associated health risks." BMI stands
for Body Mass Index, a ratio of weight-to-height used to determine
whether a person falls within a healthy range.The WHO considers someone with a BMI of 25 overweight, and 30 or higher obese.In line with recommendations by the Japanese Society for the Study of
Obesity, however, a BMI of 25 was taken as obese for Japanese
populations for the purposes of the study.The researchers analysed health insurance data from 59,717
individuals diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes - a form of the disease that
generally hits in adulthood as a result of being overweight.The participants had regular check-ups from 2008 to 2013.Data captured included their age and gender, BMI, waist
circumference, blood pressure, eating habits, alcohol consumption, and
tobacco use.From the outset, the slow-eating group of 4,192 had a smaller average
waist circumference, a mean BMI of 22.3, and fewer obese individuals -
21.5 percent of the total.
By comparison, more than 44 per cent of the fast-eating group of 22,070 people, was obese, with a mean BMI of 25.The team also noted changes in eating speed over the six years, with
more than half the trial group reporting an adjustment in one direction
or the other.
"The main results indicated that decreases in eating speeds can lead to reductions in obesity and BMI," they found.
