We do everything on the go, and that includes eating. What’s more, we’re usually pretty distracted during breakfast, lunch or dinner. Between work stress, smartphones and maybe even our favorite series on Netflix, we fly through our meals without even realizing it. But eating quickly may lead to unhealthy weight gain if you’re not careful. Read below to know more about how eating slowly can be good.

In a study observing Japanese individuals, researchers set out to explore the relationship between obesity and several lifestyle habits, including eating dinner two hours before going to bed, snacking after dinner, skipping breakfast and alcohol consumption.

But they also focused on one lifestyle habit in particular: eating speed. They came up with three speeds: fast, normal and slow.

They found that the group of slow eaters had lower BMI (body mass index), fewer cases of obesity and on average, they had smaller waist circumference. Instead, in the fast-eating group, there was a significant increase in BMI, obesity and waist circumference.

The association between obesity and fast eating has been explored in another study. Here, scientists concluded that individuals who eat too quickly, consume more than necessary simply because they are not aware of their satiety levels, eating more than their body actually needs.

Therefore, by simply slowing down at every meal, you can consume just the right amount of food, and help to stave off unwanted weight gain. This simple lifestyle change can make a huge impact on your overall health and wellness since excess body weight puts individuals at a greater risk for diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer.