We always tell 5-year-old Danny to slow down and chew his food -- he's a pro at stuffing loads of grub in his mouth and then struggling to swallow it down. Our only real goal for this young boy is that he doesn't choke or heave his hearty helpings back onto his dinner plate. It seems we might also be teaching him how to to stay slim and trim.

Longer meal times and thorough chewing tend to decrease the amount of food eaten and lead to greater fullness and satisfaction for the older-than-Danny healthy female population. This, from a first-ever study on the topic of slower eating, concluding that smaller bites, pausing between bites, and chewing thoroughly is a key slim-down strategy.

So, what qualifies as slow? While I don't have a definite time frame to share, I do know that the meals during study were 21 minutes longer than quick meals. I also know that the female participants ate about 67 fewer calories and reported feeling much more satiated after eating slowly. Great news, which hopefully will transfer to other populations, like men and obese folks.