According to a study done at Purdue, factors significantly associated with an increased risk of GDV (bloat and torsion) were:

• increasing age
• having a first-degree relative with a history of GDV
• having a faster speed of eating,
• having a raised feeding bowl.

(Journal of American Veterinary Medical Assn, 2000; 217:1492-1499)

It has long been a traditional "preventative" to raise the height of food and water bowls, but this was found to actually increase risk by 110%! This correlation of risk was verifiable - the dogs of the breeders in this study did not have close relatives that had experienced bloat. (Tufts University canine conference)

Another study from the Canine Health Foundation confirmed that bloat risk increased with:

• advancing age
• larger breed size
• greater chest depth
• close family history of bloat.

This study also found that some strategies used by owners to prevent bloat either had the opposite effect, or no effect at all. In particular, raising the food bowl more than doubled bloat risk, and restricting water and food before and after exercise may not have any effect. 

So, if you have a dog with other risk factors for GDV who is a fast eater, by all means utilize methods to slow them down during mealtime. There are many ways to do this. Brake-Fast manufactures a food bowl with 3 raised "peaks" which prevent a dog from diving into their food and inhaling it. It forces them to slow down. Other people have used every day items like feeding in a muffin pan, or placing a few very large clean rocks in the food bowl. Be sure the size of the rock is too large for your dog to swallow!