Context:
The rate at which people eat has been suggested to be positively associated with obesity, although appetite and related gut hormones have not been measured.

Objective:
The objective of the study was to determine whether eating the same meal at varying speeds elicits different postprandial gut peptide responses.

Design and Setting:
This was a crossover study at a clinical research facility.

Study Participants:
Seventeen healthy adult male volunteers participated in the study.

Intervention:
A test meal consisting of 300ml ice cream (675kcal) was consumed in random order on two different sessions by each subject: meal duration took either 5 or 30min.

Main Outcome Measures:
The postprandial response of the orexigenic hormone ghrelin and the anorexigenic peptides peptide YY and glucagon-like peptide-1 over 210min was assessed. Visual analog scales for the subjective feelings of hunger and fullness were completed throughout each session.

Results:
Peptide YY area under the curve (AUC) was higher after the 30-min meal than after the 5-min meal (mean±sem AUC 5min meal: 4133±324, AUC 30min meal: 5250±330pmol/liter·min, P=0.004), as was glucagon-like peptide-1 AUC (mean±sem AUC 5min meal: 6219±256, AUC 30min meal: 8794±656pmol/liter·min, P=0.001). There was a trend for higher visual analog scale fullness ratings immediately after the end of the 30-min meal compared with immediately after the 5-min meal. There were no differences in ghrelin response.

Conclusions:
Eating at a physiologically moderate pace leads to a more pronounced anorexigenic gut peptide response than eating very fast.