I read in the news today that researchers have found that by using a device to tell obese children to eat slowly, these kids lost weight and decreased their eating speed by 11%.

In a trial with 106 obese children the gadget showed promising results, the British Medical Journal reports online.

After 12 months of use the children weighed less and ate smaller portions. Their speed of eating was reduced by 11% compared with a gain of 4% in a comparison group.

Experts believe eating too fast can interfere with an inbuilt signalling system that tells the brain to stop eating when the stomach becomes full.But early in life, with instructions like “make sure you eat it all up”, children are taught to override these signals.

I guess the old reminders to eat slowly really works.

So how do you eat slowly?

Here are some ideas:

• Chew more. Chew your food until it’s all mushy inside. That will help digest the food better and gives your jaw muscles a good exercise.
• Drink a glass of water before a meal to feel fuller.
• Eat fruits before a meal. Again your adding non-fattening volume ahead of the main meal.
• Use chopsticks. Imagine using chopsticks in all your meals. Good luck to eating fast (unless you’re a chopstick master).

• Don’t swallow a spoonful.

I’m giving this a try.  Let’s see if I can manage to slow down.