Question

Notice on not to eat fast food

Answer 1

do you savour mealtimes or do you wolf your food down? Eating at your desk or on the run can mean you can gulp down your breakfast or lunch in less than five minutes. And this means you are more likely to get obese or develop metabolic syndrome, both of which increase your risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke, says research presented at last week’s American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2017.

The researchers from Hiroshima University in Japan followed up 642 men and 441 women over five years, identifying them as either slow, normal or fast eaters. They found that fast eaters were 11.6% more likely to have developed metabolic syndrome – defined as having any of three risk factors out of obesity (around the waistline), high blood pressure, high levels of bad fats (triglycerides) and high blood sugar after a period of fasting.

The solution

The link between eating quickly and becoming unhealthy has been known for a while. When you eat quickly, the body doesn’t get a chance to signal to the brain that you are getting full. Receptors in the stomach that respond to being stretched by food, and the hormones that signal to the brain that partially digested food has made it to the small intestine, can take 15 to 20 minutes to kick in.