New study results show that eating speed is heavily linked to weight gain. Dr Caroline Horwath and colleagues analysed relationship between self-reported speed of eating and Body Mass Index in over 1500 middle-aged Kiwi women. They found that for every one-step increase in speed in a five-step scale, BMI increased by 2.8 percent, which equates to a weight gain of just under 2 kg.

     "We have expected that we would see an increase in obesity with faster eating, but we were surprised at the size of the effect," she says. Dr Horwath says the research suggests a reduction in eating speed is a a very effective way to prevent weight gain.