A method for the control of eating rate: a potential intervention in eating disorders.

A method for the control of eating rate gave subjects feedback from a computer screen on how much and at what rate to eat during a meal. The method also allowed us to record the development of satiety during the meal. Linear eaters--that is, women selected for eating at an approximately constant rate--underate when challenged to eat at a lower rate and overate when challenged to eat at a higher rate, thereby modeling the eating behavior of patients with anorexia nervosa and binge eating disorder, respectively. In both cases, the women's postmeal perception of satiety mimicked that of the respective patient group. The results provide support for the notion that linear eaters have the capacity to exhibit disordered eating.