Count bites, not calories to shed extra kilos

London: Though the Atkins diet, Paleo diet, raw food diet and 5:2 exist, the key to shedding those extra kilos could be as simple as counting bites.

Following a new pilot study, scientists revealed that the secret to weight loss success might lie how much food we are putting into our mouths, the Independent reported.

They tasked participants with counting the number of bites they took over a month, and then aiming to take 20 to 30 per cent fewer bites over the next four weeks.

And those, who did so, lost around four pounds, which is the 'healthy' weight loss limit recommended by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in America.

The team of researchers at Brigham Young University saw results even without the test subjects making any other changes to their eating habits and exercise routines, Science Daily reported.

Lead author Josh West said that the study had served to confirm what they already knew consuming less food makes a difference.

Co-author Ben Crookston said: "the good news is that you don't have to be extreme calorie cutting. Even a 20 percent reduction in bites makes a difference."