“When we eat foods that are less energetic, we use less energy and still get those filling portions,” said Cunningham.
These can be water-rich foods like fruits and vegetables, said study co-author, Barbara Rolls, a professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Penn State’s College of Health and Human Development.
Although slowing down your eating might be an option to reduce overconsumption, it’s difficult to do, Rolls said, and some evidence suggests that eating speed is a genetic behavior.
“I think it’s clear that eating less could help them if they could be more mindful, slower, and more attentive. But as with all things related to weight management, it is difficult to get people to do it, ”said.
In their lab, they sometimes change the calorie density of food and reduce it by 30% without people noticing, Rolls said. They do this by adding more vegetables, using more herbs and spices, and just a little less fat, while still maintaining a high palatability. People can make these small changes at home as well.
The research will be presented this week at the American Society for Nutrition’s annual virtual meeting. Results presented at medical meetings are tentative until published in a peer-reviewed journal. The research was funded by Jenny Craig, Inc. and the US National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
“I’m honestly not surprised,” said Dana Hunnes, an adjunct assistant professor at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health, who was not involved in the study. “Over the years, there has been some data to suggest that the bigger the portion size, the more people tend to eat more.”
It can take about 15 to 20 minutes for your body to realize you’re getting full and go through the digestive process, Hunnes said.
“It was interesting that they concluded that eating faster and bigger bites was also related to eating more, but that doesn’t really surprise me because I think it’s pretty well known that it takes longer to fill you up, if you eat faster, and therefore you tend to eat more and then bigger bites, just bite for bite get more calories, “she said.
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