The Study
The Effect of Eating Rate of Ultra‐Processed Foods on Dietary Intake, Eating Behaviour, Body Composition and Metabolic Responses—Rationale, Design and Outcomes of the Restructure Randomised Controlled Trial
This study is like a fair test where two groups of people ate the same junk food, but one group had to eat it slowly and the other fast. They found that eating slowly made people eat fewer calories. But it only lasted two weeks and only tested a small group — so we can't say it works for everyone or for a long time.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Scientists gave people the same ultra-processed foods but made some harder to chew so they ate slower, and others softer so they ate faster.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 572 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1That’s like skipping a small snack every day — helpful for weight management, but not enough to lose weight in just two weeks.
- 2People ate about 130 fewer calories per day when eating the same food slowly, but their weight and blood markers didn't change in 2 weeks.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Nutrition Bulletin
Year
2025
Authors
M. Lasschuijt, Lise A. J. Heuven, Marieke van Bruinessen, Zhen Liu, Josep Rubert, Markus Stieger, K. de Graaf, C. Forde
Related Content
Claims (6)
Foods that are highly processed and lack physical structure lead to higher calorie consumption because they require less chewing and reduce the body's natural signals that tell you when you are full.
In healthy adults, eating ultra-processed foods slowly versus quickly for 14 days does not change levels of fasting blood markers, gut hormones, or inflammation markers.
When people eat ultra-processed foods more slowly by changing their texture, they consume about 130 fewer calories per day over two weeks, even when the food itself does not change.
Changing the texture of ultra-processed foods alters how quickly people eat them, even when calorie content, serving size, and taste remain unchanged, showing that texture alone influences how much food is consumed.
Eating ultra-processed foods slowly for 14 days does not change body weight, fat mass, or muscle mass, even if people consume fewer calories.
Changing the texture of ultra-processed foods from hard and chewy to soft and lubricating directly changes how fast people eat them, and this change can be measured accurately using video analysis without altering the food's nutritional content.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.