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Fast eaters may be more likely to develop diabetes

Category: Diabetes

Individuals who eat rapidly may face a high risk of receiving blood test results indicating they have diabetes, according to a new study presented at the European Congress of Endocrinology.

The Lithuanian University researchers who conducted the study said that fast eaters have long been known to consume more at meals than slow eaters. This alone is a risk factor for weight gain and diabetes. However, their findings showed that the diabetes risk was consistent in fast eaters, regardless of how much they consumed at each meal.

In the study, the team asked a group of participants to describe their eating habits. The results showed that people who said they typically eat faster than other people were 2.5 times more likely to have diabetes than those who said they generally eat slower than others.

The team said the findings are significant because identifying modifiable risk factors for diabetes could lead to improved prevention efforts. Doctors could counsel patients who are likely to develop the condition to eat slower. This could have a positive effect on the number of people who suffer from diabetes, which continues to increase in the U.S.