Eating Pace Intervention Classes 3: Female students at the University of Rhode Island Feinstein campus
Abstract
Over one-third of the United States is obese. This weight status is associated with many negative health implications including cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Female college students are a sub-group especially prone to excess kilocalorie (kcal) consumption, leading to weight gain. Consuming food at a fast pace has been associated with increased kcal consumption. Interventions reducing eating rate may be an effective method to reduce kcal consumption in female college students. Techniques to promote reduced eating rate include putting the fork down between bites, taking smaller bites, and chewing thoroughly before swallowing. This study observed the effects of engaging in the Eating Pace Intervention Classes (EPIC) curriculum. This was done with the goal of decreasing the consumption rate (kcal/minute) and total kcal eaten at a control meal, in addition to decreasing kcal and consumption rate as reported with 24 hour food recalls. Ten female students were recruited from colleges in the Providence area through classroom announcements, flyers, and mass emails. The intervention group (n=5, age 24.4±8.1) participated in 5 weeks of group classes on slow eating techniques. The control group (n=5, age 26.4±7.4) received no treatment. Both groups underwent multi-pass dietary recalls, laboratory standardized lunches, anthropometric measurements, and surveys. Data were used to assess laboratory and free living eating rate and kcal consumption before and after the 5 weeks of classes, along with change in anthropometrics and survey scores. ANOVA was used to compare within-group and between-group differences in eating rate for pre and post measurements. There were significant between group differences at baseline for the free living condition. No significant time by group or within group differences were found for eating rate. Both groups experienced a small, non-statistically significant decrease in eating rate from pre to post in free living and laboratory conditions. The experimental group experienced a non-significant increase in kilocalories eaten from pre to post in both the laboratory and free living conditions. This was also seen in the laboratory condition in the control group. There was no significant change from pre to post for eating rate for either group. Overall, this research gathered valuable observations for the use of this intervention in the Providence environment. With a larger sample size and with more demographic information, detailed insight into the effectiveness of an eating rate intervention may be assessed.^
Subject Area
Health Sciences, Nutrition
Recommended Citation
Ruthann Sampson,
"Eating Pace Intervention Classes 3: Female students at the University of Rhode Island Feinstein campus"
(2012).
Dissertations and Master's Theses (Campus Access).
Paper AAI1518320.
http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/dissertations/AAI1518320