Abstract
Eating speed (ES) as a dietary behaviour has become a widely discussed factor for weight management and obesity. This study analysed the relationship between ES and anthropometric indicators of obesity, including BMI and waist circumference (WC) in adults. A search conducted of PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct and Scopus found six longitudinal studies and fifteen cross-sectional studies published for further analysis. A quality assessment was performed with the MINORS checklist. Eight studies were included in the meta-analysis and almost all reviewed studies showed that ES was associated with BMI, and non-fast eaters had significantly lower BMI than fast eaters. Therefore, it was assumed that slowing down the ES may be an effective strategy for weight management and lowering obesity risk. There was also an association between WC and ES. Assessment of eating speed can be included in nutrition surveys to analyse obesity risk. More broadly, research is also needed to establish a validated and standardised methodology to determine eating speed. Further research needs to examine the links between eating speed, obesity, ethnicity, sex, food culture and chronic diseases.
Highlights
Published: 16 November 2021According to the WHO, obesity is continuously growing worldwide and has tripled in the last forty years [1]
The current review summarised cross-sectional and longitudinal articles to investigate the relation between obesity indicators and ‘eating speed’ as a dietary behaviour
The analysed studies and data indicate that eating speed is associated with obesity indicators, most strongly with BMI
Summary
Published: 16 November 2021According to the WHO, obesity is continuously growing worldwide and has tripled in the last forty years [1]. A sedentary lifestyle [4], socioeconomic factors [5], genetics [6], microbiome [7], psychological well-being [2], endocrine regulation [3], family and education influence [8,9], dietary behaviours such as skipping breakfast [10], snacking [11] and meal regulations [12,13,14] are prominent. As the most critical factor in obesity, dietary behaviour plays a crucial role in weight management and prevention of obesity through its influence on energy balance and close interaction with other factors, such as nutrigenomics and psychology [15,16]
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