Losing weight losing weight thanks to regular chewing gum?

Health & Diet Myths: Slimmer by chewing gum chewing?
Many swear by it: frequent chewing gum chewing is to help with weight loss, since the digestion is stimulated and the chewing consumes extra calories. A study examined this widespread assumption and came to interesting results.

Obesity poses a risk to health
Being overweight is a health hazard. For example, having too many kilos is more likely to cause cardiovascular disease such as high blood pressure or diabetes. According to health experts, even a minimal weight loss would have a significant positive impact. But usually it is not so easy to get rid of excess pounds. Some people think chewing gum could help, as it slows down cravings among other things. However, scientific research has shown that chewing gum chewing does not help with weight loss and may even be counterproductive.

Can daily chewing gum help to lose weight? (Image: nyul / fotolia.com)

Chewing chewing gum does not reduce the weight
Although chewing gum chewing reduces the number of total meals per day, overall calories remain nearly the same, researchers in the US say.

In addition, chewing gum has a tangible negative effect: "The chewing of mint chewing gum reduces the consumption of fruit," report the researchers of the University Buffalo in the science magazine "Eating Behaviors".

Researchers conducted a review study to investigate the effects of chewing gum chewing.

During the study, 44 male and female volunteers chewed chewing gum with different flavors in the lab. A second group took the meals as a review group without chewing chewing gum.

Calorie intake always remained the same
Total caloric intake remained the same in all subjects compared to meal times without previous chewing gum chewing. It also turned out "that the flavors had no impact on eating high-calorie foods."

However, the researchers found that mint chewing gum significantly reduced the amount of fruit consumed. "It could be that the mint bittert bitter ingredients or sweeter tasted weaker," said the research team.

In a second experiment, a total of 44 subjects were given mint-flavored chewing gum containing guarana and green tea extracts for a week before each meal, and were reported to reduce their appetite.

In the following week they chewed chewing gum, which, although similar in taste to its predecessors, did not contain the same ingredients.

It turned out that "overall, calorie intake did not decrease, but fruit intake declined for most participants."

Positive effects on oral hygiene
For comparison, all participants took two chewing gum-free weeks, each lying between the chewing gum weeks.

It was noticeable that during the chewing gum weeks the participants consumed fewer snacks, but made up for the loss of calories during the main meals. It turned out that the calorie intake was about the same as in the chewing gum-free weeks.

"The research shows that chewing gum is unlikely to be useful for dieting," researchers said, according to a report from "nutraingredients.com.".

For other purposes, chewing gum but quite useful. For example, it is well known that chewing gum chewing is good for healthy teeth and that it can effectively prevent tooth decay. (sb, ad)