And if the secret of a balanced figure lay not in the quantities that we eat, but rather in the speed with which we eat?

Japanese researchers at Kyushu University have been studying the link between the pace of our meals and our weight, and reveal that " changes in the speed at which we eat can actually result in weight changes, BMI ( body mass index) and waist circumference. "

Diabetics as research subjects

For the purposes of this study, scientists studied 59,717 people with type 2 diabetes , a condition that is common among overweight people, looking at their medical records from 2008 to 2013. They then asked each of participants to rate the speed at which they feel they eat, and whether they used to dine within two hours before bedtime, have a snack after dinner, or skip breakfast.

The result is a double observation: people claiming to eat "slowly" - about 7% of those surveyed - have on average a smaller initial waist size than the others. In contrast, those in a hurry, who feel they eat "normally" to "quickly", generally have a higher BMI and a higher rate of overweight and obesity.

To push the search further, the specialists decided to shake the habits of the eaters at normal speed (56%) and so-called "fast" eaters (37%) by forcing them to spend more time at the table. A simple change that caused significant weight loss in participants.

The reason ? When we eat too fast, our body creates glucose intolerance and insulin resistance . We no longer feel satiety , which leads us to increase, wrongly, our calorie intake.

A study that deserves to be deepened

The reactions of several experts were not long in coming after the publication of the study, what to bring additional lighting.

Dr. Simon Cork, of the Imperial College of London, considers this study "interesting" but raises nevertheless a significant problem in all this research work: "It is something totally subjective that to ask someone how fast it eat, "he says. The participants' answers may, in his opinion, sometimes be remote from reality, and therefore inaccurate.

For Susan Jeb, professor of dietetics in Oxford, this finding, as relevant as it is, does not provide real solutions to help people to eat less quickly.

Finally, Katarina Kos, Obesity Specialist at Exeter University of Medicine, hopes that this study will be expanded and expanded to a larger sample of non-diabetics. In this case, if the results are similar they will only be more convincing.

On the other hand, a contrary diagnosis would prove that the information revealed here is attributable solely to the treatment of diabetes. It should be noted that, to date, Japanese researchers at the initiative of this work have not confirmed, or denied, the possibility of further study.