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By Matthew Rees

Food and Health Fact #158: Eating too fast and eating too much

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It’s well established that Americans’ predilection for ultra-processed food products – they account for 58 percent of average daily calorie consumption – is a leading driver of the country’s high obesity rate. A study published in 2020 deepens our understanding of precisely why ultra-processed foods are so harmful and the answer is strikingly simple: they get consumed really fast.

The study found that the pace at which people eat ultra-processed food (also known as “junk food”) is 100 percent faster than when they eat unprocessed food – and 50 percent faster when eating processed food. (See the image below for an illustration of each food category.) Multiple studies, point out the authors, “demonstrate a positive and sustained relation between eating faster, increased energy intake, and higher adiposity; BMI; and an elevated risk of metabolic disease.”

One explanation is that eating fast can interfere with satiety signals. In other words, your body doesn’t signal fullness until you’ve already eaten too much. The study cites other research showing that the more chews required per bite reduces the speed at which people eat, which contributes to lower total intake.

The good news? “Eating rates can be modified with training,” write the authors, “to slow energy intake rate and reduce the risk of overconsumption.” Or you can just eat more unprocessed food.