The Relationship of Eating Rate and Degree of Chewing to Body Weight Status among Preschool Children in Japan: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study.

Hitomi Okubo,Kentaro Murakami,Satoshi Sasaki,Shizuko Masayasu

doi:10.3390/nu11010064

Hitomi Okubo, Kentaro Murakami + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11010064

Copy DOI

Abstract

There is growing recognition that eating slowly is associated with a lower risk of obesity, and chewing well might be an effective way to reduce the eating rate. However, little is known about these relationships among children. We therefore investigated the associations of eating rate and chewing degree with weight status among 4451 Japanese children aged 5–6 years. Information on eating rate (slow, medium, or fast), degree of chewing (not well, medium, or well), and nutrient intake of children were collected from guardians using a diet history questionnaire. Weight status was defined using the International Obesity Task Force cut-offs based on BMI calculated from guardian-reported height and weight. The prevalence of overweight and thinness was 10.4% and 14.3%, respectively. A higher eating rate and a lower degree of chewing were associated with being overweight (both p < 0.001). Eating slowly was associated with being thin (p < 0.001), but no association was observed between chewing degree and thinness. These associations were still evident after controlling for potential confounders including parental educational attainment, weight status, and the child’s nutrient intake. In conclusion, this cross-sectional study suggested that chewing well, rather than eating slowly, might be a more effective way for healthy weight management among Japanese preschool children.

Highlights

The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity in children is widely recognized as a global public health challenge [1]
Using data from the Japan Nursery School SHOKUIKU Study [25,26], we examined the hypothesis that eating rate and chewing degree are associated with weight status in a group of Japanese preschool children, taking into account a range of potential confounding factors including parental educational attainment, weight status, and the child’s nutrient intake
Compared with other participants in the SHOKUIKU Study (n = 1932), those included in these analyses were more likely to live in the Kanto, Hokuriku and Tokai or Kinki areas, to have parents with a higher educational attainment and normal body weight status, to have many siblings, to be born at a normal birthweight

Summary

Introduction

The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity in children is widely recognized as a global public health challenge [1]. Great attention has been focused on the critical period in the life course when the risk of obesity is increased and when nutritional and other lifestyle interventions may be more effective in preventing excess weight gain [2,3]. There is considerable evidence that early childhood is an important period for determining the future risk of obesity and its related adverse consequences [4,5]. Since eating behaviors emerge and are established in early life, and may persist into adulthood [6,7], understanding potential modifiable eating behaviors that influence excess weight gain may help in the development of intervention strategies to tackle childhood obesity [7,8]. A recent meta-analysis of observational studies among adults clearly showed that eating quickly was associated with increased body mass index (BMI) and a higher prevalence of obesity [9]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion