Should I Eat Faster or Slower to Eat More?

December 30, 2025 •

5 min read

According to a study published in the journal Preventive Medicine, fast eaters had higher body fat and higher blood glucose levels compared to slower eaters, which is why the approach for eating more depends on your goal. Should I eat faster or slower to eat more?

Quick Summary

The strategy to eat more depends on whether the goal is competitive or for regular caloric surplus. Eating faster is a tactic used by competitive eaters to override satiety signals, while eating slower is generally recommended for weight management as it promotes fullness. Manipulating eating speed and stomach capacity are key components of increasing food intake for specific purposes.

Key Points

Slower eating promotes healthy weight gain: For a sustainable caloric increase, eating slowly and mindfully allows for larger, more frequent meals without causing significant digestive discomfort.
Faster eating is for competitive contexts: Speed eating is a high-risk technique used by competitive eaters to override the body's natural satiety signals, but it is not a healthy practice for regular consumption.
Hormones regulate appetite: Hormones like PYY and GLP-1 signal fullness over a period of about 20 minutes, which is why eating quickly can lead to overeating before the brain registers satiety.
Stomach stretching is temporary: The stomach has a large capacity to expand, but it returns to its normal size. Competitive eating or intentional over-consumption can increase this elasticity temporarily, but it is not a permanent change.
Caloric density is key for healthy gain: To healthily increase caloric intake, focus on eating smaller, frequent meals of nutrient-dense foods, like healthy fats and proteins, rather than simply speed-eating.
Mindful eating improves digestion: Chewing food thoroughly when eating slowly aids the digestive process and nutrient absorption, which is better for overall health compared to the poor digestion associated with eating too fast.
Choose the right strategy for your goal: The ideal eating speed is completely dependent on your objective, with a clear distinction between the healthy practices for weight management and the extreme methods used for competitive purposes.

The Science of Satiety: Why Eating Speed Matters

To determine whether you should eat faster or slower to eat more, you must first understand the body's complex satiety mechanisms. Satiety, the feeling of fullness and satisfaction, is regulated by a combination of hormonal signals and nerve impulses between the gut and the brain. This process typically takes about 20 minutes to fully register.

The Hormonal Messengers of Fullness

Several key hormones play a role in this signaling process:

Ghrelin: Often called the "hunger hormone," ghrelin levels increase before meals, stimulating appetite. After you eat, ghrelin levels decrease.
Peptide YY (PYY) and Glucagon-like Peptide-1 (GLP-1): These are "fullness hormones" released by the intestines in response to food. They travel to the brain to signal that you are full. Slower eating allows more time for these hormones to rise and send a stronger signal of satiety.

When you eat quickly, you consume a larger amount of food before the brain has time to receive these hormonal signals. This is why fast eaters can consume significantly more calories in one sitting without feeling full until after the meal is over, a key mechanism exploited by competitive eaters.

The Physical Component of Stomach Capacity

While the stomach is an elastic organ that expands and returns to its normal size, competitive eaters and those trying to increase their caloric intake for weight gain can influence its capacity. Regular, intentional overfeeding of high-volume, low-calorie foods can cause the stomach to distend more easily over time. However, this is a trained, temporary expansion and the stomach will return to its baseline if the practice stops. This strategy, sometimes referred to as "stomach training," is about increasing the sheer volume the stomach can comfortably hold before the physical distension signals fullness.

The Divergent Goals: Weight Gain vs. Competitive Eating

The optimal eating speed for eating more depends entirely on your objective.

Eating Slower for Controlled Caloric Increase

For those aiming for healthy weight gain or a controlled caloric surplus, eating slower is a surprisingly effective strategy. While it seems counterintuitive, focusing on slower, more frequent meals can prevent the intense, uncomfortable fullness associated with speed eating. This allows for better nutrient absorption and encourages eating larger, more frequent meals over time rather than attempting to force-feed a massive amount in one go. By chewing thoroughly and being mindful of intake, you can gradually increase overall consumption without digestive distress.

Eating Faster for Maximum Intake (Competitive Eating)

For competitive eaters, the goal is the complete opposite. Speed is the priority to outpace the body's natural satiety response. Competitive eaters train to consume food as quickly as possible before the brain receives the hormonal signal to stop. This is a high-risk, specialized technique that prioritizes volume over comfort or digestion. It is not recommended for general health purposes due to the significant stress it places on the digestive system.

A Comparison of Eating Strategies


Feature	Eating Faster (for Maximum Intake)	Eating Slower (for Healthy Caloric Increase)
Goal	Override satiety signals and maximize volume in a single sitting for competitions.	Control caloric increase over time, improve digestion, and prevent discomfort.
Satiety Signals	Suppressed or delayed. Brain receives fullness signals too late.	Enhanced. Hormones like PYY and GLP-1 signal fullness appropriately.
Digestion	Inefficient, can lead to bloating, gas, and discomfort.	Enhanced through proper chewing and enzyme release.
Mental State	Highly focused on speed, often involves distractions to suppress conscious fullness.	Mindful, focused on flavors, textures, and body cues.
Stomach Impact	Stretched acutely to maximize short-term capacity.	Gradually adapts to larger, more frequent meal sizes over time.
Health Impact	Associated with higher risks of obesity and metabolic issues if done habitually.	Promotes better digestion, nutrient absorption, and long-term healthy habits.

Practical Tips for Your Goal

If Your Goal is Healthy Weight Gain:

Eat more frequently: Instead of three large meals, try five or six smaller, nutrient-dense meals throughout the day.
Prioritize calorie-dense foods: Add healthy fats like nut butters, oils, and avocado to your meals. Incorporate high-protein shakes to boost calories.
Limit high-volume, low-calorie foods initially: While fiber is important, focusing on denser foods can help you increase intake without feeling overly full too quickly.
Time your liquids: Drink your fluids after, rather than before or during, meals to avoid prematurely filling your stomach.

If Your Goal is Competitive Eating (Not Recommended for General Health):

Practice stomach training: Gradually increase the volume of food and water consumed in a single sitting over weeks or months.
Use carbonated drinks (with extreme caution): Some competitive eaters use carbonation to force belching, which creates more stomach room, but this is a dangerous practice.
Chew less: Competitive eating prioritizes swallowing quickly rather than proper mastication.

Conclusion: Slower for Health, Faster for Competition

Ultimately, the question of whether to eat faster or slower to eat more has two very different answers based on your objective. For long-term, sustainable health, the best approach is to eat slower, focusing on nutrient-dense, frequent meals to gradually increase overall caloric intake without taxing the digestive system. Eating slowly promotes better digestion, hormone signaling, and a healthier relationship with food. In contrast, eating faster is an aggressive strategy reserved for competitive scenarios and is not a healthy or sustainable practice for regular use. Understanding your goals and the science behind satiety will help you choose the right pace for your needs.

Helpful Resources

For those interested in healthier eating habits, the NHS offers excellent guidelines on proper nutrition and digestion.

Conclusion

For most people seeking to increase food intake healthily, eating slower and more mindfully is the superior approach. This allows the body's natural satiety system to work effectively, preventing over-consumption while promoting better digestion and long-term health. However, in the very specific and non-health-focused world of competitive eating, the opposite is true, with the goal being to consume as much as possible before satiety signals arrive. The choice of speed should align with your specific health and dietary intentions, prioritizing well-being over sheer volume unless the goal is competitive.

Frequently Asked Questions

Competitive eaters can consume vast amounts of food by training their stomachs to stretch and by eating at a very fast pace to suppress their body's satiety signals before they kick in. They also often use liquids to aid in the quick consumption of solid food.

Yes, chewing your food more thoroughly helps you to eat less. It promotes better digestion and gives your brain more time to receive the hormonal signals that indicate you are full, leading to a reduced overall calorie intake.

No, you cannot permanently stretch your stomach by simply overeating. Your stomach is an elastic organ that will expand during a meal and return to its normal size within a few hours. Repeated overeating can temporarily increase its capacity, but it will revert to its baseline if the pattern is not maintained.

Eating too fast often causes you to swallow more air along with your food. This can lead to gas and bloating, as the digestive system is not given enough time to process the food efficiently.

It takes about 20 minutes for your stomach to send hormonal signals to your brain that register as fullness. This is why slowing down your eating pace is crucial for recognizing when you've had enough food.

Regularly eating too fast has been linked to potential health issues including overeating, weight gain, metabolic syndrome, and impaired digestion. It can also disrupt your body's natural hunger and fullness cues.

To gain weight without discomfort, focus on increasing the frequency of your meals and choose nutrient-dense, calorie-rich foods. Eat five to six smaller, balanced meals and incorporate healthy fats and proteins to increase your caloric intake gradually over time.