The Relationship of Eating Rate and Degree of Chewing to Body Weight Status among Preschool Children in Japan: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

There is growing recognition that eating slowly is associated with a lower risk of obesity, and chewing well might be an effective way to reduce the eating rate. However, little is known about these relationships among children. We therefore investigated the associations of eating rate and chewing degree with weight status among 4451 Japanese children aged 5–6 years. Information on eating rate (slow, medium, or fast), degree of chewing (not well, medium, or well), and nutrient intake of children were collected from guardians using a diet history questionnaire. Weight status was defined using the International Obesity Task Force cut-offs based on BMI calculated from guardian-reported height and weight. The prevalence of overweight and thinness was 10.4% and 14.3%, respectively. A higher eating rate and a lower degree of chewing were associated with being overweight (both p < 0.001). Eating slowly was associated with being thin (p < 0.001), but no association was observed between chewing degree and thinness. These associations were still evident after controlling for potential confounders including parental educational attainment, weight status, and the child’s nutrient intake. In conclusion, this cross-sectional study suggested that chewing well, rather than eating slowly, might be a more effective way for healthy weight management among Japanese preschool children.

Time trend of axial length and associated factors in 4- and 5-year-old children in Shanghai from 2013 to 2019

“…Children’s height was significantly positively associated with boys, higher maternal height, higher maternal education levels, higher family income, and higher percentage of energy intake from protein [ 24 ]. Children’s weight was associated with eating rate and degree of chewing [ 25 ] and parental feeding practices [ 26 ]. This study did not collect and analyze these factors, but they may partly explain the differences between paired comparisons.…”

Eating Speed, Eating Frequency, and Their Relationships with Diet Quality, Adiposity, and Metabolic Syndrome, or Its Components

“…The year of publication spanned from 1964 to 2020. Nine studies (one study explored both eating speed/rate and eating frequency) included only children [ 4 , 12 , 14 , 24 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 30 , 31 ] one was based on children and adolescents (≤19 years-old) [ 51 ], two articles involved only adolescents [ 25 , 29 ], four articles recruited children, adolescents and young adults [ 10 , 15 , 17 , 32 ] and finally, 36 articles included only adults [ 2 , 5 , 9 , 11 , 13 , 16 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , ...…”

“…Regarding adipose measurements, fast eating speed/rate was significantly associated with greater risk of overweight (odds ratio (OR) = 2.71; 95% CI: 2.10, 3.48) and overweight/obesity (β = 0.70; 95% CI: 0.33, 1.08) [ 27 , 28 ], waist circumference [ 24 ] and higher BMI z-score [ 27 ]. Whereas, slowness in eating showed significantly inverse associations with overweight (OR = 0.61; 95%CI: 0.41, 0.92) and waist circumference [ 26 ].…”

“…In the present review, overweight and obesity in adults was defined as a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m 2 and a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m 2 , respectively. Meanwhile in children, excess body weight was evaluated with BMI in kg/m 2 (according to IOTF criteria [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ], British Growth reference criteria [ 14 ] or Central for Disease Control and Prevention criteria [ 12 ]) or percentiles (according to CDC criteria [ 30 , 31 ] or WHO criteria [ 32 ]), as well as BMI z-scores [ 4 , 10 , 12 , 14 , 17 , 24 , 25 , 27 , 31 ]. Abdominal obesity, in adults, was defined by WC cut-offs according to ethnicity.…”

Anneleri̇n Beslenme Tutumlari İle Çocuklarin Ki̇lo Durumu Arasindaki̇ İli̇şki̇si̇

“…Kahvaltı yapmadan evden çıkmanın ve öğün aralarında kalorisi yüksek, besin değeri düşük gıdaların tüketimi kilo ve obezite gelişimini artırmaktadır. Erken çocukluk döneminde beslenmenin yaşamın ileri dönemlerindeki obezite ve onunla ilişkili hastalıklar ile yakın ilişkisi olduğu bildirilmiştir (8). Gittikçe küreselleşen dünyada beklenen yaşam kalitesine ulaşmak için toplumun beslenme bilincinin artırılarak sağlıklı yaşam biçimine dönüştürülmesi gerekmektedir.…”