New studies at the University of Rhode Island show that eating rate plays an important role in how much food we eat. Men eat faster than women, heavy people eat faster than thinner people, and refined grains are consumed faster than whole grains. Fast eaters consume 3.1 ounces of food per minute and slow eaters consume 2.0 ounces per minute. At lunch men consumed 80 calories per minute and women 52 calories per minute.
Perhaps it takes time for the body to process fullness signals and if we eat faster than this happens, satiety is not perceived quick enough to slow or end the eating process.