Study: Eating Rate Doesn't Affect Calorie Intake When You're Fat

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School researchers examined the link between the rate of eating a meal and total calorie consumption in subjects considered normal weight, overweight and obese.

Prior studies indicated a fast eating rate may weaken the feedback mechanisms in one's body that regulate how many calories are consumed.

But, as indicated in the the newest findings, published today in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, researchers asked 35 normal-weight and 35 overweight or obese subjects to consume the same meal of vegetable pasta with two different approaches: At a slow, leisurely pace and at a hurried pace.

The study scientists said they noted a statistically significant reduction in normal-weight individuals during the slow meal, compared to the fast eat. But, statistically, the caloric intakes of the overweight and obese subjects were unaffected when either eating slow or fast.

"Slowing the speed of eating led to a significant reduction in energy intake in the normal-weight group, but not in the overweight or obese group," Meena Shah, the study's lead author, said in a statement. "A lack of statistical significance in the overweight and obese group may be partly due to the fact that they consumed less food during both eating conditions compared to the normal-weight subjects."

A report by RedOrbit.com said the healthy-weight subjects ate 88 dietary calories less during the slow meal as compared to the fast meal. Overweight or obese people, on the other hand, consumed 58 calories less.

The study showed both body-size groups reported being less hungry after the slow meal but not after the fast one.

"In both groups, ratings of hunger were significantly lower at 60 minutes from when the meal began during the slow compared to the fast eating condition," Shah said. "These results indicate that greater hunger suppression among both groups could be expected from a meal that is consumed more slowly."

Researchers also saw both groups drank more water during the slow meal -- 12 ounces, compared to 9 ounces during the fast meal.

"Water consumption was higher during the slow compared to the fast eating condition by 27 percent in the normal weight and 33 percent in the overweight or obese group," said Shah.

"The higher water intake during the slow eating condition," she said, "probably caused stomach distention and may have affected food consumption."