Eating in Under 20 Minutes? Scientists Reveal Why It’s Harmful

LONDON (AP) — It’s okay to have your cake as long as you savor it slowly. While nutrition experts often emphasize the kinds of foods to eat for better health, the rate at which you consume your meals is equally important.

Eating too quickly comes with its own set of risks: think about the dangers of choking and the likelihood of overeating before your brain signals that you are full. (Speed eating can also irritate those who dine more leisurely or the person who prepared your meal).

Here are a few strategies from scientists on how to slow down and eat more mindfully.

How Fast is Too Fast?

If you routinely finish your breakfast, lunch, or dinner in under 20-30 minutes, you’re eating too swiftly.

“It takes about 20 minutes for the stomach to relay messages to the brain via hormone signals that it’s full,” explains Leslie Heinberg of the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Behavioral Health. “So, when people eat quickly, they may miss these signals and easily surpass the point of feeling satisfied.”

Why is Fast Eating a Problem?

Heinberg notes that people who eat quickly are likely to swallow more air, which can lead to bloating or indigestion. Not chewing food properly also compromises digestion, meaning you won’t absorb all the nutrients from your meal. Additionally, unchewed food pieces could get stuck in your esophagus.

Previous studies have indicated that fast eaters are at a higher risk of obesity, whereas those who eat slowly are less likely to be obese.

How Can You Slow Down Your Eating?

First off, turn off the TV and put down your phone. “If you’re eating while watching TV, people tend to eat until there’s a commercial break or the show ends,” Heinberg said, adding that people are less likely to heed their body’s fullness signals. “When we multitask while eating, we eat less mindfully. And that often leads us to eat more.”

When people focus solely on their meal, they enjoy their food more and tend to eat less, Heinberg added.

Heinberg also acknowledged that eating pace is often a deep-seated habit but stated that change is still possible. She suggested techniques like eating with your non-dominant hand, trying unfamiliar utensils like chopsticks, or taking deliberate pauses to drink water midway through the meal.

If you have a busy lifestyle, it might be inevitable to have lunch during a work meeting or snack while running errands. However, Sarah Berry, lead scientist of the British nutritional company ZOE, suggested, “Be aware of the taste and texture of the food whenever possible.”

Berry stated, “If we’re not fully present, it’s very easy to eat faster and not notice how much we’ve consumed.”

Chew Your Food, Just Like Mom Said

One of the simplest things you can do is increase your number of chews, stated Helen McCarthy, a clinical psychologist from the British Psychological Society.

“If you chew each bite a bit longer, that will slow down your eating pace,” she added.

The type of food you eat can also make a difference, noting that it’s much easier to eat ultra-processed or fast foods quickly because they generally have a softer texture.

“It’s challenging to eat vegetables and proteins at the same pace as something that is highly processed and requires less chewing,” McCarthy explained.

Some of her patients also reported an unintended side effect once they started eating more slowly, referencing a woman who used to eat a tube of potato chips every night. When McCarthy advised her to slow down and eat each chip individually, her patient said it was “like eating a mouthful of sticky chemicals.”

“She stopped liking the potato chips,” McCarthy remarked.