Nutrition professor links gum chewing to metabolism

11/19/09 - Chewing gum might be the newest way to help people reduce their calorie intake and increase energy expenditure, according to a study done by a University of Rhode Island nutrition professor. Kathleen Melanson, a URI associate professor of nutrition and food sciences, has been conducting a study to find out whether gum chewing before meals helps a person lose weight and gain energy.

During her study, her subjects were told to chew gum over the course of the morning which resulted in them consuming 68 calories fewer at lunch than when they had a morning without gum.

She also found that, with the help of an instrument that measures how many calories a person is burning, the energy of the person increased 5-8 percent during gum chewing sessions.

Her and her colleagues have been doing research in the lab for years on the effects of slow eating and have seen study after study show that when people eat slowly they tend to eat less and express satiety or satisfaction.

"With increased chewing there is increase stimulation of the nerves that innovate the muscles of the jaw which send signals to the hypothalamus that is associated with satiety," Melanson said.

Melanson said that 35 male and female volunteers each had to come in two times for a half day each. During one of the visits they had to chew gum and during one of the visits they did not and each was administered randomly.

When the volunteer came in that morning they were in a fasting state and she measured their energy. Their hunger was then recorded before breakfast and periodically throughout the study. The volunteer was then fed a standardized breakfast consisting of a Boost breakfast drink. The amount of breakfast they had to consume was based on how much energy they needed based on their prior calculation. The volunteer's energy was then measured from breakfast to lunch.

"The next step in our study is to go for longer terms and to look at different subject populations, like people who might be interested in losing weight, specifically using it as a weight control," Melanson said. But in this study it was mostly people who weren't looking to lose weight so we want to see if it extends to other populations, as well," Melanson said.

The Wrigley Science Institute had given a research reward to the Obesity Society, which in turn was then given to Melanson in a grant to do this study, she said. More grants are being pursued to continue similar types of research.