Abstract
On a new framework for anorexia nervosa, learning to eat is central intervention; as patients regain a normal pattern of eating their problems dissolve. Mandometer®, a development of previous methods, allows simultaneous recording of eating rate and the development of satiety as well as experimental manipulation of eating rate.
By measuring eating behavior during the course of a meal with this method, women were divided into those eating at a decelerated rate and those eating at a constant rate. Decelerated eaters are able to resists experimental challenges such as eating at an increased or decreased rate, but linear eaters eat more or less food in these experimental conditions.
Satiety develops similarly in both decelerated and lineal eaters. Linear eaters develop a pattern of eating similar to that of anorexic patients when eating at a decreased rate, they eat less food yet experience an increase in satiety. Linear eaters can learn to eat at a decelerated rate and if they do they can resist overeating when tested to eat at a high rate. As a result of the learning, they also score lower on restrained eating, a cognitive construct thought of as a cause of eating behavior. Skipping dinner increases the linearity of eating and reduces food intake in women but has the opposite effect in men; these changes in eating behavior can be reversed by feedback on how to eat during the meal.
The conditions of the school dinner in secondary schools are such that the speed of eating increases by 50% and food intake gets distorted from its normal pattern. The change can be reversed by eating in a relaxed condition or by feedback on how to eat during the meal. It is suggested that linear eating is a risk factor for eating disorders and that the risk can be reduced by practicing eating using feedback on how to eat properly.
