Experiment: Two Eating Habits That Actually Made You Gain Weight

0

The portion of food you put on your plate and how quickly you eat it determines how much you eat or possibly overeat.

A new study found that when people were given large portions of macaroni and cheese for lunch, they ate more—43% more when the portion size was increased by 75%.

Those who ate faster or took more bites also tended to eat more food.

“I think both of our main findings have implications for health and how much we eat. And another step is weight maintenance and weight gain,” said study author Paige Cunningham, a doctoral student at Pennsylvania State University.

The researchers gathered 44 men and women for weekly lunches for four weeks, giving them randomly selected portions of macaroni and cheese, served with water. They videotaped the meals to assess the speed at which the participants ate, as well as the size of their portions.

The study participants ranged in age from 18 to 68. About two-thirds were women. About 45% were overweight or obese.

Eating speed did not change with increasing portion size. Participants ate more when they ate faster or took larger bites, as well as when they ate more or ate for a longer period of time.

The reason people eat more when they eat faster may be because of the body's response to how long the food stays in a person's mouth.

Knowing that people eat more when their portions are larger, one recommendation is to be aware of how much portion size you are giving yourself. A person can also compensate for consuming more energy, or calories, than they need by choosing foods with fewer calories per gram.

The portion size of food you put on your plate and how quickly you eat it determines how much you eat or possibly overeat.

When you change the calorie content of a food by reducing it by 30%, people don't notice. They do this by mixing in more vegetables, using more herbs and spices, and a little less fat, while still maintaining the same great flavor. People can make these small changes at home.