Medical Weight Management Blog

Yes, chew your food!

An abstract presented at the 2011 European Association for the Study of Diabetes suggests that thorough chewing stimulates the release of two intestinal peptides that reduce appetite and food intake in obese individuals.  In a study of obese non-diabetic individuals, thorough chewing stimulated postprandial increases of plasma glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 and peptide YY (PYY), both of which are secreted by intestinal L cells.

It was reported that the postprandial plasma levels of both hormones were statistically significantly higher after chewing 30 times than after chewing 5. This suggests that thorough chewing of food might have a clinically meaningful effect in controlling body weight in obese individuals. 

Once again, mom was right.  Slow down, don’t talk with your mouth full and chew your food before you swallow….

Obese people may be less able to control food impulses

Thin people may be able to summon more mental defenses to resist tempting, high-calorie foods than obese people.  Yale University School of Medicine researchers have found that brain scans of thin people who looked at pictures of high-calorie foods showed increased activity in a region of the brain used for impulse control, but obese people showed little activity in this region.  Larger studies are needed to confirm the findings, but the study does suggest that obese people may be less able to shut off parts of the brain that drive food cravings.

Bites of Trivia - Why Willpower is Not Enough #10

Size and structure
It is likely that people in other countries do not have the problems that we do with overeating because of two things—size and structure. Their kitchens and pantries are not as big as ours. They do not drive SUVs big enough to transport the mass quantities of food we purchase at warehouse clubs. They often do not drive at all, so they have to haul their purchases home in their arms. We also eat everywhere and at different times throughout the day. In other countries, people eat three meals each day, and they eat in the kitchen and at the table. Unfortunately, other countries are starting to catch up to us now.

Bites of Trivia - Why Willpower is Not Enough #9

Exercise
Many people overestimate how many calories they burn exercising and underestimate how many calories they consume. They reward themselves for exercising and end up gaining weight.

Bites of Trivia - Why Willpower is Not Enough #8

Decisions, decisions
The average person will make well over 200 decisions about food each day.