Eating pace instruction is effective in slowing eating rate in women with overweight and obesity

Abstract

Slow eating is associated with lower body mass index (BMI), enhanced satiety, and reduced food intake in laboratory settings. This study developed and tested a 5-week slow-eating intervention, delivered either through individual or small group weekly meetings, in women with overweight and obesity. Women (n = 65; 20.5 ± 3.6 years; BMI 31.3 ± 2.7 kg/m²) were assigned to experimental or parallel non-treatment control. Main outcomes, measured pre- and post-intervention, included eating rate, meal duration, and energy intake during a standardized meal served on a universal eating monitor. Exploratory outcomes included Weight Related Eating Questionnaire (WREQ), Intuitive Eating Scale (IES), and Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ) scores. All women in the experimental group underwent the same slow-eating intervention, but half had individual sessions while the other half had small group sessions. No differences were seen for any outcomes between session modalities, so experimental data were pooled (n = 25) and compared to control data (n = 25). Time-by-group interactions showed reduced eating rate (F_(1,48df) = 13.04, η² = 0.214, p = .001) and increased meal duration (F_(1,48df) = 7.949, η² = 0.142, p = .007) in the experimental group compared to the control group but change in energy intake was not significant (F_(1,48df) = 3.298, η² = 0.064, p = .076). Experimental within-group changes for WREQ subscale scores External Cues (t₍₂₃₎ = 3.779, p = .001) and Emotional Eating (t₍₂₃₎ = 2.282, p = .032) decreased over time, along with increased total and summary IES (t₍₂₃₎ = 2.6330, p = .015) and MEQ (t₍₂₃₎ = 2.663, p = .014) scores. Promising findings of reduced eating rate, increased meal duration, and improved WREQ, IES, and MEQ scores should be followed up in larger more diverse samples for longer durations.

Keywords: Eating behavior intervention; Ingestive Behavior; Slow eating.