LAS VEGAS--Does your mom's lasagna taste better if you savor each bite as if it were your last?
It might or might not, but if you slow down when eating, chances are you'll eat less. That's the idea behind HapiFork, shown off at 2013 CES Unveiled.
The fork vibrates if you take a bite less than 10 seconds after the last mouthful. That will teach you to slow down, enjoy each morsel, and allow your brain to rein in your appetite.
After all, it takes about 20 minutes for your brain to start sending out signals that you're full.
"Your hormones are offset when you eat too quickly," says inventor Jacques Lepine of France-based Hapilabs. "It's bad for satiation and bad for the transformation of nutrients."
Lepine, an engineer by trade, was always told he ate too quickly when he was young. He once thought he was having a heart attack and rushed to the hospital, only to be told that it was gastric reflux.
His doctor told him to slow down when eating, and over the next seven years he developed a tool to help pace himself.
The HapiFork, and its companion the HapiSpoon, have a simple timer and vibration mechanism in their removable handles. They're also Micro USB-chargeable.
They haven't proven effective at helping people lose weight yet, says Lepine, but they're only launching within the next two months. They should be priced around $99.
What's it like waiting 10 seconds between bites? It takes patience, Lepine says, but he doesn't wolf down his dinner anymore.
