Geschatte leestijd: 2 minutenPeople who eat quickly have a greater chance of developing metabolic syndrome. This includes various factors contributing to the development of diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and strokes. Factors such as overweight, a higher degree of abdominal fat, and a larger waist circumference.
Eating Quickly and Gobbling Down Food
When I was 18, I spent a summer with a friend of my father’s in Nigeria. During the first shared meals, he frequently remarked that I was a terribly slow eater. However, I felt that he truly wolfed down his food as if his life depended on it. Not an entirely crazy comparison. The retired army captain had retained the habit from his time in service, where soldiers were taught to eat as quickly as possible. “In times of war, you don’t have time to dine leisurely, and you don’t know when to expect the next meal.” Unfortunately, the Nigerian military leadership then could not yet know that this habit apparently isn’t conducive to the troops’ health.
People who eat more slowly have a smaller chance of being overweight and developing metabolic syndrome according to initial findings from research to be presented during the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2017 [1].
Metabolic syndrome is said to occur when someone has one of the risk factors such as a high degree of abdominal fat, high blood sugar, high blood pressure, increased triglycerides, and/or elevated HDL cholesterol. This is explained by Takayuki Yamaji from the University of Hiroshima.
Yamaji and colleagues studied 642 men and 441 women with an average age of 51.2 years who did not have metabolic syndrome in 2008. They divided the participants into three groups depending on how they rated their eating speed; fast, normal, or slow.
After five years, they found that fast eaters had an 11.6% higher chance of developing metabolic syndrome compared to normal eaters (6.5%) and slow eaters (2.3%). Fast eating was associated with higher weight, higher blood sugar, and a larger waist circumference.
According to the researchers, taking more time for your meal can play a crucial role in reducing the chance of developing metabolic syndrome. When people eat quickly, they may feel less satiated and be more inclined to overeat. Eating quickly can also cause greater fluctuations in blood sugar levels, which can lead to insulin resistance, a precursor to type 2 diabetes.
Eating Quickly or Zen Eating
So, should I ever get into a discussion about this again with my Nigerian friend over 20 years later, I can consciously eat agonizingly slowly, hoping he brings up this topic again.
However, I must confess that I can also gobble down food quite well at times. Writing an article with one hand and stuffing half-chewed food into my mouth with the other. If we can learn from the Japanese in this respect, perhaps it also applies to the ancient art of devoting your full attention to one task. Think of ‘zen arts’ such as Japanese calligraphy, flower arranging, tea pouring, and some martial arts. If I can draw a sword in full concentration and chop three imaginary opponents into pieces in 1.5 seconds, then lunch should also be manageable, right? It may look a bit odd to solemnly bow to a Nutella sandwich as to a sword, but if it works, it works.
References
- newsroom.heart.org/news/gobbling-your-food-may-harm-your-waistline-and-heart?preview=6cef
