Investigating the Relationship between Eating Speed, Body Composition, and Physical Activity: A Cross-Sectional Analysis in Gujarat, India

Purpose In the modern era, changing lifestyle has made people change their eating habits. Eating speed tends to affect weight gain. There are very few studies conducted comparing eating speed and body composition. Here, the present study was conducted with an aim to establish relationship between eating speed, body composition and physical activity. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Gujarat, India with 465 participants varying in age from 18–65 years. Anthropometric measures such as weight, height and waist circumference of the participants along with body mass index, visceral fat percentage, body fat percentage and resting metabolism were taken into consideration. Eating speed was examined via self-structured eating speed questionnaire and physical activity was examined via short IPAQ questionnaire. Further data analysis was done to find out the association of eating speed with various variables of body composition using different statistical tests. Results The results from the study suggested that there is a significant association of eating speed with BMI and visceral fat whereas no association was found of eating speed with resting metabolism and body fat. Moreover, logistic regression model suggested that eating speed has more odds of becoming obese. Discussion Eating speed is positively associated with increasing BMI and visceral fat. Thus, it can be interpreted that eating speed is a factor affecting weight gain and so, investigating and modifying eating speed can prove a helpful intervention for reducing obesity along with inclusion of physical activity.