Eating Quickly Increases Risk of Weight Gain

Previously, studies have identified two peptides that signal satiety, namely peptide YY (PYY) and glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1)   While knowledge of the mechanisms involved in appetite control by PYY and GLP-1 has increased, postprandial (after meal) concentrations of appetite-regulating hormones have not yet been examined.  Alexander Kokkinos, from Lake General Hospital (Athens, Greece), and colleagues studied 17 healthy adult male subjects, to whom the researchers gave a test meal consisting of 300 ml ice cream (675 kcal), consumed in random order on two different sessions by each subject where each meal took either 5 minutes or 30 minutes.  The team found that the subjects who ate in 30 minutes had higher levels of both PYY and GLP-1, as compared to the participants who ate their meal in 5 minutes.  Levels of ghrelin, a hormone that signals hunger, were not different between the two groups.  The researchers conclude that: “Eating at a physiologically moderate pace leads to a more pronounced [satiety] gut peptide response than eating very fast.”