Instead of gulping your food, try eating more slowly.It may help you drop those unwanted pounds, a new study by Japanese researchers suggests.

與其狼吞虎咽，不如試試悠著點。日本研究人員的一項新研究表明，細嚼慢咽可以幫助減掉多余的體重。

Also helpful: Avoiding after-dinner snacks and eating anything in the two hours before you go to bed, the researchers said.

研究人員說，此外，杜絕餐后零食且睡前兩小時內(nèi)避免進食也有助于減肥。

The study linked those simple changes to a smaller waist, and lower rates of obesity and overweight.

這項研究表明這些簡單的飲食調(diào)整有助于縮小腰圍，降低肥胖和超重的比例。

Compared with people who gobbled their food, those who ate at a normal speed were 29 percent less likely to be obese.But those who ate slowly were up to 42 percent less likely to be obese.

與那些狼吞虎咽的人相比，以正常速度進食的人肥胖幾率要低29%。而細嚼慢咽的人發(fā)胖幾率更是可以降低42%的比例。

In addition, slow eaters tended to be healthier and to have a healthier lifestyle than those who ate quickly or at a normal speed.

另外，細嚼慢咽的人往往比那些狼吞虎咽及正常進食速度的人有更健康的體魄和生活方式。

This study could not, however, prove that eating speed causes or prevents obesity, only that it appears to be associated, the researchers noted.They were led by Dr. Haruhisa Fukuda from the Department of Health Care Administration and Management at Kyushu University Graduate School of Medical Sciences in Fukuoka, Japan.

然而，研究人員指出，這項研究并不能證明，進食速度會導致或預防肥胖，二者只是相互關聯(lián)而非因果關系。該項研究由日本福岡九州大學醫(yī)學院的衛(wèi)生保健管理和管理系的福田博士發(fā)起。

But, eating slowly may very well play a role in curbing obesity, said Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center in Derby, Conn.He had no part in the study.

但是，位于康涅狄格州德比的耶魯-格里芬預防研究中心主任 David Katz 博士說，慢慢地吃東西很可能會在控制肥胖方面起到一定作用。盡管他沒有參與這項研究。

Practices that impose some mindfulness and discipline on eating may help with both losing weight and staying healthy, Katz said.He’s also president of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.

兼任美國生活方式醫(yī)學學院院長的 David Katz說：“那些在飲食上施加一些專注力和自制力的做法可能有助于減肥和保持健康。”

Slow eating is characteristic of a more mindful approach.Food choice is more conscious, and eating is appreciated for quality rather than just quantity, he said.

慢食會迫使人更專注。他說，人們需要有意識地對食物進行選擇，吃東西重在質(zhì)而非量。

Avoiding food in the hours just before sleep also suggests a more thoughtful approach to diet that involves some reasonable constraints, Katz said.

Katz說：“在睡覺前的幾個小時里避免進食，其實就是對攝入的合理限制，這也暗合了自控的飲食方式。”

The research team’s findings came from analysis of health insurance data on nearly 60,000 Japanese residents with diabetes who had made insurance claims and had regular checkups between 2008 and 2013.

該研究小組的調(diào)查結果來自對近6萬名糖尿病患者的健康保險數(shù)據(jù)分析，這些人曾在2008年至2013年間進行過保險索賠，并定期進行體檢。

The checkups included weight and waist size measurements and the results of blood, urine and liver function tests.Participants also were asked about their lifestyle, including eating and sleep habits and alcohol and tobacco use.

檢查包括體重和腰圍尺寸的測量，以及血液、尿液和肝功能測試的結果。參與者還被問及他們的生活方式，包括飲食、睡眠習慣、以及煙酒的攝入。

At the start of the study, more than 22,000 people routinely ate quickly, while nearly 33,500 ate at a normal speed and almost 4,200 ate more slowly.

在研究開始時，超過22,000人經(jīng)常吃得很快，而近33,500人以正常速度進食，近4,200人吃得慢。

Although reductions in waist size -- a sign of a potentially harmful midriff bulge -- were small, they were greater among those who ate slowly or at normal speed, the study found.

研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，雖然腰圍變小——這是潛在有害的腹部隆起的跡象——但在那些慢速或正常速度的人群中，腰圍卻更小。

Snacking after dinner and eating within two hours of going to sleep also were linked to changes in weight.Skipping breakfast was not.

體重變化與晚餐后吃零食，睡前兩小時內(nèi)吃東西息息相關。與不吃早餐無關。

Previous research has linked eating quickly to impaired glucose tolerance and insulin resistance.The study suggested that this might be because fast eaters consume more food before feeling full.

先前的研究表明，快速進食會導致葡萄糖耐受不良和胰島素抵抗。研究表明，這可能是因為吃快餐的人在吃飽之前會消耗更多的食物。

Slow eaters, however, become aware of feeling full before they’ve consumed too much.

然而，慢食者在吃得太多之前就會意識到飽了。

Slow eating has its pros and a few cons, said Samantha Heller, a senior clinical nutritionist at New York University Medical Center in New York City.

紐約大學醫(yī)學中心的資深臨床營養(yǎng)師Samantha Heller說：“慢食既有優(yōu)點也有缺點。”

On the one hand, slow eating gives our bodies time to register a sense of satisfaction and fullness, so we tend to eat less, she said.

她說，一方面，慢食讓身體有時間來反應這種滿足感和飽腹感，所以往往能讓我們吃得更少。

We are more likely to savor the taste, texture, subtle flavors and mouth feel of foods, said Heller, who was not involved with the study."Research suggests that slow eaters consume fewer calories, have increased feelings of fullness and a decreased sense of hunger."

“我們更有可能品嘗食物的味道、口感、微妙的味道和口感，”沒有參與到福田博士研究的Heller對此觀點不謀而合，“研究表明，吃得慢的人消耗更少的卡路里，增加了飽腹感，減少了饑餓感。”

On the other hand, the longer some people linger with food in front of them, the more they eat, she said.

她說，另一方面，有些人在食物面前逗留的時間越長，他們吃的就越多。

That said, speed eating appears to be far more deleterious, Heller said."People who speed eat, as many of us do, scarf down far more calories than they need."

“那就是說，吃速食似乎更有害，”海勒說。“像我們很多人一樣，快速進食的人攝入的卡路里遠遠超過他們所需要的卡路里。”

Eating quickly has been associated with a higher risk for obesity, cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome, Heller said.

海勒說，快速進食與肥胖、心血管疾病和代謝綜合征的高風險有關。

In many European countries, slow eating is a way of life, she said."In America, speed eating takes the lead.Thus, we need to encourage a cultural shift to adopting an approach of slower eating and a true enjoyment of food."

“在許多歐洲國家，慢食是一種生活方式，”她說。“在美國，速食成為主流。因此，我們需要鼓勵一種文化上的轉變，即采取一種慢食和真正享受食物的方式。”

The study was published online Feb. 12 in the journal BMJ Open.

這項研究發(fā)表在2月12日的電子版《英國醫(yī)學期刊》上。