Today’s competitive American society puts a premium on finishing first, but when it comes to eating, you’ll be more likely live longer and feel better if you just slow down. The results of a Japanese study shared at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2017 indicate that people who gobble down meals tend to become obese and have an increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome, a deadly group of medical conditions that includes high blood sugar, high blood pressure, high triglyceride levels, and low HDL cholesterol. Metabolic syndrome multiplies a person’s risk for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.
Chew more, live longer:
- Researchers from Hiroshima University in Japan evaluated 642 men and 441 women with an average age of 51.2 years, none of whom had metabolic syndrome, for five years.
- They found that fast eaters were more likely to develop metabolic syndrome than normal eaters or slow eaters. Around 11.6% of fast eaters developed the syndrome, compared to 6.5% of normal eaters and 2.3% of slow eaters.
- Eating quickly was also linked to prevalent glucose fluctuations, which can lead to insulin resistance, the researchers noted.