[Getty Images Bank]
[Getty Images Bank]

"Eat fast!" With lunch breaks lasting barely an hour, Korean office workers rarely spend more than 30 minutes at the table — and many wolf down their meals even faster than that.

Recent research offers a stark warning for those workers: the faster you eat, the greater your risk of obesity and the lifestyle diseases that come with it.

A study published in the international journal Scientific Reports found that people who eat quickly tend to have higher body mass indexes and greater accumulations of visceral fat.

Researchers analyzed the eating speed and body composition of 465 adults. Obesity-related indicators were consistently higher among those who ate at a faster pace.

The reason, researchers say, is that the human body simply cannot keep up with a hurried meal.

It takes time for food to reach the stomach and for satiety signals to travel to the brain. When a meal is rushed, people end up consuming more food before that sense of fullness registers.

Nutrition research has repeatedly shown that eating more slowly increases feelings of fullness, while eating quickly raises the risk of overeating.

Reduced chewing is also cited as a contributing factor. Chewing more slowly extends meal duration and enhances satiety, whereas fast eating naturally increases the likelihood of consuming too much.

However, the researchers cautioned that the study was observational, comparing eating habits and body composition at a single point in time. "It is therefore difficult to determine clearly whether fast eating causes obesity or whether people who are already obese tend to eat more quickly," they said, adding that long-term follow-up research is needed.


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