Weight loss tips & tricks: counting bites may help shed pounds, study reveals

Stop counting calories and begin counting bites instead, a new study coming from researchers at the Brigham Young University in Utah claim. The study published in the latest issue of Advances in Obesity, Weight Management & Control claims that those who counted their bites in 30 days lost about 4 lbs, which is what the CDC recommends for a healthy weight loss, Eurekalert reports.

Researchers gathered 61 participants and asked them to count the number of times food was lifted to their mouth, and the number of gulps of liquids other than water every day. Participants kept a tally of the food they consumed and texted or emailed their totals to researchers.

Participants were also asked to take 20 to 30 lesser bites over the course of a month. Out of the 61 participants, 41 completed the experiment and showed that they lost an average of 4 lbs. The 20 other participants who did not complete the study struggled to keep up with counting while eating.

According to Medical Daily, the research group is now working with BYU's Computer Science to come up with an algorithm to help count bites through a wearable device. They enlisted the help of professor Christophe Giraud-Carrier to come up with a technology that is now licensed to a local startup company called SmartBites, who is trying to develop an app for wearable devices such as WatchOS and Android Wear devices.

According to lead author John West, "This study confirms what we already knew: Consuming less food makes a difference. We're not advocating people starve themselves, what we're talking about is people eating less than they're currently eating."

West explained, "We felt pretty good about how much weight they lost given the relatively short span of the study. Now we need to follow up to see if they keep it off, or if they lose more weight."

Obesity affects 35.7% of American adults, and more than two-thirds of the population are considered to be overweight or obese, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease reports. According to the CDC, obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, which are some of the leading causes of death in the U.S.

Study co-author Ben Crookston said, "We're consuming considerably more calories than we did a generation ago or two generations ago; at the same time we're much less active. The good news is that you don't have to be extreme calorie cutting. Even a 20 percent reduction in bites makes a difference."

Researchers have also found that participants were able to increase water consumption to 12 ounces compared to 9 ounces. The authors believe that consuming more water and slowing down the pace of eating may have contributed to less food consumption.