Voice of London

Remember the time when mummy told you to eat your food slowly? Well, there is a reason behind it.

We all have days when we return home after a hard day’s work starving, drained and ready for a well-deserved nap. You open the fridge to find some leftover mac’n’cheese that has been there for a while. ‘’It will do,’’ you think to yourself, quickly gulping it down just so you could reunite with your one and only true love – bed.

As benevolent as this might first appear, a new study has found that gobbling your meals has several side effects.

According to the study, presented at the the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2017, gobblers are more likely to develop metabolic syndrome, which could lead to a cluster of issues, such as obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. The research also notes that eating too quickly can cause sudden fluctuations in blood sugar levels – a medical complication that can make you insulin-resistant.

The researchers at the Hiroshima University in Japan, examined an overall of 1083 people (642 men and 441 women) with an an average age of 51.2 years, none of whom had reported metabolic syndrome at the beginning of the study in 2008.

After studying each group of participants based on their eating habits (slow, fast or normal) for five years, the team of scientists found that those with a tendency to eat fast were almost twice as likely (11.6%) to have developed metabolic syndrome than those with normal (6.5%) and slow (2.3%) eating speed.

The team concluded that rushing to finish your plate is also associated with weight gain, higher blood pressure and a larger waistline.

Oops. . . We should have listened to mum.

Words: Kate Kūlniece | Subbing: Asya Gadzheva