Potential Relationship between Self-Assessed Eating Speed and Recalled Duration of Eating Meals in Apparently Healthy Adults

Abstract

Background: Self-assessed eating speed was frequently used to assess an individual’s eating speed in previous clinical studies. However, the relationship between self-assessed eating speed and the duration of eating meals is unknown. Place and Duration of Study: A cross-sectional study in Saitama, an eastern district of Japan, near Tokyo, in 2012. Methodology: We determined self-assessed eating speed relative to other people and recalled duration of eating meals (rDEM) in 472 apparently healthy Japanese adults aged 18–69 years. Self-assessed eating speed was assessed using a simple question and was divided into three categories (slow, normal, and rapid). Subjects were asked to report rDEM over the last few days to the nearest 5 min. Results: rDEM decreased significantly from slow to rapid self-assessed eating speed (all, P < .0001), and from dinner and lunch to breakfast (P < .0001). Similar trends were observed when subjects were divided into three categories according to chewing frequency. Conclusion: Self-assessed eating speed and rDEM may be closely correlated with each other and with chewing frequency, and might be useful to evaluate overall eating behaviors.