"Chew your food properly!" is what mothers would tell their children if they were eating too fast. That same motherly advice just so happen to have some science behind it. As it turns out, chewing food and taking it slow has some benefits.

Researchers at the University of Rhode Island have conducted some studies on how men and women eat, and have made some discoveries about one of the most basic actions in the world.

In one of the studies done, Kathleen Melanson, URI associate professor of nutrition, along with her lab team, delve into the rate as to how people eat. Melanson observed that fast eaters consumed about 3.1 ounces of food per minute; medium-speed eaters consumed 2.5 ounces per minute; while slow eaters took in 2 ounces per minute.

In addition, the researchers found that a person's gender also affects the rate at which one eats. Based on their study, men ate about 80 calories per minute as opposed to women who only consumed 52 calories per minute. Malanson theorizes that men eat faster because they are heavier and have higher energy needs than women.

This need for energy was linked to their second study which found that the eating rate was closely linked to a person's body mass index, which analyzes a person's body fat on his or her weight and height. Basically, people with high BMI typically eat faster than those who have a low BMI.

Linking their study of eating rate to eating techniques, the researchers examined test subjects eating a meal of whole grains, such as whole grain cereal and whole wheat toast, and saw a significantly slower rate of eating when compared to a similar meal of refined grains.

With this, Melanson noted that their study has demonstrated that eating slowly would result in fewer average calories being consumed by people.

Eating Fast vs. Eating Slow

Based on Melanson's research, eating slow is better, but dieticians and some conscious eaters have been practicing eating slowly for the longest time. So what are some experts saying about eating slowly?

According to Health Assist, taking it slow in meals would mean gradually reducing the appetite because it takes about 15 to 20 minutes for the brain to get signals of being full, this way, people can also control their portions.

Chewing food properly, which would take some time, promotes smooth and complete digestion. Not only that, because it takes time to chew food properly, the body can better metabolize the meal, thereby maximizing the vitamins and minerals.

Now that eating slowly has been settled, what happens when people eat too quickly?

According to LiveStrong.com's Lillian Downey, eating too fast could cause some problems. Research found that when a person eats too fast, there is an increased risk of indigestion. In addition, people also gain weight; this is because people who eat too fast pile on the food up until the 20 minutes when the brain gets the signal of being full.