(October 23, 2008 - Insidermedicine) Eating both quickly and until full can triple the risk of becoming obese, according to research published in the British Medical Journal.

Here are some facts about being overweight and obese:

•    Worldwide, about 1.6 billion people aged 15 and over are overweight and at least 400 million are obese.

•    Once a problem limited to high income countries, obesity rates are rising dramatically in low- and middle-income countries.

•    Some of the causes of the growing rates of obesity are a shift toward calorie-dense, nutrient-poor foods and a trend toward sedentary lifestyles.

Researchers from Osaka University had over 1,100 Japanese men and 2,100 Japanese women aged 30 to 69 fill out questionnaires about their eating habits between 2003 and 2006.

Those who reported that they ate “until full and ate quickly” had a higher BMI and took in more calories than those who reported that they did not “eat until full and did not eat quickly”. In addition, those who reported eating both quickly and until they were full were three times more likely to be obese than those who reported neither of these eating habits.

We had a chance to speak with Professor Hiroyasu Iso, the principal investigator of this study, who offered some insight regarding healthy eating habits.

Today’s research demonstrates how the habits of eating quickly and until full can impact the risk of becoming overweight or obese. Learning healthy eating habits and teaching these habits early on to children may help curb obesity rates.

For Insidermedicine in Depth, I'm Dr. Susan Sharma.