Can Eating Fast increase Risk of Diabetes?

In a preliminary study they found that eating too quickly can…. 

Researchers found that eating too fast can lead to weight gain, which in turn can trigger diabetes.

Scientists in Lithuania looked at 702 people, including 234 who had just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. They all filled in a detailed questionnaire about their lifestyles which included sections on diets, exercise and whether they smoked. One question asked them if they ate faster, more slowly or at the same speed as others.

They were also measured and weighed to calculate their body mass index which determines whether they are obese.

The researchers found that those who admitted they ate more quickly than most other people were two-and-a-half times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

Study participants with diabetes also were more likely to have a higher body-mass index (a measurement of body fat based on height and weight), and to have much lower levels of education than those without diabetes, the researchers said.

Study leader, Lina Radzeviciene, of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, said, “The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is increasing globally and becoming a world pandemic.” “It appears to involve interaction between susceptible genetic backgrounds and environmental factors. It’s important to identify modifiable risk factors that may help people reduce their chances of developing the disease.”

Experts think this is because their digestive system doesn’t have a chance to send a signal to the brain that it is full.

Although the study found an association between eating fast and incidence of diabetes, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

Presented at the International Congress of Endocrinology and European Congress of Endocrinology in Florence, Italy April, 2012