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Fujita Health University scientists found that the type of food consumed affects eating speed more than the sequence in which food is eaten. Meals served in individual portions and eaten with utensils prompted longer meal duration, more chews, and faster chewing tempo compared to fast food, regardless of whether vegetables were eaten first or last.
Obesity has been linked to increased cardiovascular and cancer risk. Rapid eating behavior is often associated with higher food intake and has been observed more frequently among individuals who consume ultra-processed meals, such as fast food.
These types of meals are typically rich in fat and sugar and may activate the brain’s reward circuitry, encouraging faster consumption and dependency. While slow eating is widely recommended as a behavioral strategy to reduce energy intake, concrete methods to achieve it remain undefined.
Previous dietary research has identified various interventions to extend meal duration, including musical cues and changes in bite size. One factor considered promising is the sequence in which food is consumed, such as eating vegetables before carbohydrates. While this approach has demonstrated benefits for glycemic control, its impact on meal duration and chewing patterns is unclear.
Earlier investigations by the same team had examined eating behavior using pizza alone, without evaluating how different eating tools or meal types might influence speed.
In the study, “The Meal Type Rather than the Meal Sequence Affects the Meal Duration, Number of Chews, and Chewing Tempo,” published in Nutrients, researchers conducted a prospective intervention trial to assess how meal type and meal sequence influenced eating behaviors.
Forty-one adult participants (18 men, 23 women), all faculty or staff at Fujita Health University, were recruited for the study. Participants ranged in age from 20 to 65 years.
Each subject ate three different meals over a 12-week period. The first meal consisted of a slice of microwave-prepared pizza eaten by hand. Four weeks later, participants consumed a hamburger steak bento with broccoli and rice, and were instructed to eat the vegetables first.
Four weeks after that, they ate the same bento meal but were asked to consume the vegetables last. Meal duration was timed using video analysis, and chewing behaviors were quantified using a Bitescan wearable device.
Bento meals led to significantly longer eating durations than pizza. The average difference in duration was 182 seconds when vegetables were eaten first, and 216 seconds when vegetables were eaten last, both statistically significant with p-values less than 0.0001.
The sequence of eating vegetables did not significantly affect meal duration. Bento meals also resulted in significantly higher numbers of chews and faster chewing tempos. The number of bites did not vary meaningfully between meals. No association was found between meal duration and BMI. Age and male sex were both negatively associated with meal duration.
Researchers conclude that selecting meal types requiring utensils and served in individual components may effectively prolong eating time. This finding may have implications for dietary counseling and obesity prevention, suggesting that structural meal composition and eating tools influence behavior more reliably than meal sequence.
Practical applications of the study may include guidance favoring bento-style meals over fast food to support behavioral interventions aimed at slowing eating.
The effect of meal type on eating speed may contribute to broader efforts to address overconsumption and metabolic health without relying solely on willpower or sequencing advice.
More information:
Kanako Deguchi et al, The Meal Type Rather than the Meal Sequence Affects the Meal Duration, Number of Chews, and Chewing Tempo, Nutrients (2025). DOI: 10.3390/nu17091576
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