Are you a person who wolfs down your food? If so, it’s time to slow down. A new study presented at the International Congress of Endocrinology and European Congress of Endocrinology shows that people who eat fast are 2.5-times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes, compared with slower eaters.
There are clearly more factors involved than the spead of eating, such as your genetic risk and the enviroment you live in, but here is something that contributes that you can easily do something about. Type 2 diabetes is fast becoming a global problem affecting the whole world. If you’re a person who is susceptible to diabetes because of your genetic background, it’s time to slow your eating down.
This study examined the eating habits of 234 people who had just been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and compared them with 468 people without diabetes. All the people in the study answered a questionnaire about how fast they ate: slower, faster, or the same as others. The researchers also recorded their waist and hip circumference, height and weight.
After they adjusted for other factors that could cause their findings, Type 2 diabetes risk seemed to be linked with eating faster. Another earlier study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association also found that fast eaters were more likely to be obese than slow-eaters. And the faster people ate, the more their Body Mass Index (BMI) rose – 2.8% for each “step” increase on the five-step eating-speed scale (equivalent to an extra 4.3 pounds), researchers found.
Bottom line, slow down and enjoy the taste and the company and lower your risk for type 2 diabetes. Watch the video below for other ways to prevent diabetes.
