Elsevier

Appetite

Volume 57, Issue 2, October 2011, Pages 475-482
Appetite

Research report
Effects of chewing gum on short-term appetite regulation in moderately restrained eaters

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2011.06.008Get rights and content

Abstract

Orosensory stimulation is an important contributing factor to the development of satiation. Providing orosensory stimulation with few calories may satisfy appetite and help to suppress cravings for high energy snacks. This may be a useful strategy for those motivated to lose or maintain weight. The present study tested the hypothesis that chewing sweetened gum will reduce subjective appetite and subsequent snack intake in moderately restrained eaters. Within-subjects, repeated measures study, sixty healthy participants (53 women; body mass index, in kg/m2: 26.2 ± 4.5) came to the laboratory 4 times for a standard lunch. Immediately after this meal, participants rated hunger, appetite and cravings for sweet and salty snacks every hour until they returned to the laboratory 3 h later for snack. On two occasions during this 3 h period participants chewed gum for at least 15 min at hourly intervals (45 min) and on two occasions no gum was chewed. On two occasions salty snacks were offered and on two occasions sweet snacks were provided. A small but significant reduction in snack intake was observed, chewing gum reduced weight of snack consumed by 10% compared to no gum (p < 0.05). Overall, chewing gum for at least 45 min significantly suppressed rated hunger, appetite and cravings for snacks and promoted fullness (p < 0.05). This study demonstrated some benefit of chewing gum which could be of utility to those seeking an aid to appetite control.

Highlights

Chewing gum for up to 45 min after lunch reduces subsequent snack intake by ∼10%. ► Chewing gum suppressed the return of hunger following lunch and reduced cravings for sweet and salty snacks. ► Chewing gum could be a useful adjunct to those who wish to control appetite.

Introduction

Excessive consumption of energy-dense foods high in saturated fats and sugars in the form of snacks has been identified as problematic for weight control (WHO, 2002). A causal link between increased snack intake and the development of overweight cannot be assumed. For example, studies have reported a strong correlation between eating frequency and body mass index (Howarth, Huang, Roberts, Lin, & McCrory, 2007); whereas Keast, Nicklas, and O’Neil (2010) show no increased risk of overweight and obesity in adolescents who snack.

Restrained eaters are defined as consumers who tend to restrict food intake in order to lose weight or to maintain a healthy body weight. Restraint is a construct that should not be confused with dieting (Lowe, 1993), since many restrained eaters are not actively trying to lose weight (Lowe, 1993) but watching their weight (Reid, Hammersley, & Rance, 2005). In any case, individuals who express a desire to lose weight are often advised to cut back or avoid snacking between meals. This advice may be appropriate but fails to address the difficulty experienced by dieters to comply. In part this may be due to cravings for food during periods of energy restriction (Lowe, 1993, Lowe, 1995); to an increased risk of binge eating with restraint (Engelberg, Gauvin, & Steiger, 2005); or to heightened reactivity to food stimuli associated with restrained eating (e.g. Brunstrom, Yates, & Witcomb, 2004). In preparation for intake of a palatable food, there is a cephalic phase release of hormones such as insulin (cephalic phase insulin release: CPIR; see Teff, Devine, & Engelman, 1995) and release of salivation in anticipation of digestion. Restrained eaters salivate more in anticipation of eating a palatable food (Tepper, 1992) and have a significantly higher CPIR after sham feeding a palatable or unpalatable food relative to unrestrained eaters (Teff & Engelman, 1996). Thus, despite attempts to restrict foods in order to lose weight, restrained eaters may show a greater physiological responsiveness to foods, which may interfere with attempts to avoid snacking.

If consumers could satisfy cravings and feel less tempted by high energy snacks, then this may be a useful adjunct to weight control. Studies of the importance of orosensory stimulation in the development of satiation have shown that chewing produces a greater reduction in food intake than the same energy provided as a drink or semi-solid (Lavin, French, Ruxton, & Read, 2002). Similarly, soups administered intragastrically (covert or overt) have a much weaker impact on rated appetite and gastric emptying than soup consumed orally (Cecil, Francis, & Read, 1998). Therefore, orosensory stimulation forms an integral part of the satiation process.

Given the role of orosensory stimulation in promoting satiation, chewing gum has been identified as a possible adjunct to weight control for its potential effects on appetite and food intake. Gum provides orosensory stimulation (smell, taste, texture), is relatively low in energy (5–10 kcal per stick), and increases energy expenditure, according to Levine, Baukoi, and Pavlidis (1999) by around 11 kcal/h. Under laboratory conditions, both subjective ratings of appetite and measured energy intake are reduced by chewing gum for at least 15 min each hour during the 3 h between lunch and an afternoon snack (Hetherington & Boyland, 2007). In contrast, chewing gum for 20 min at a fixed time point of 2 h after lunch or self-determined time point just before the next eating or drinking occasion after lunch, had no effect on intake (Julis & Mattes, 2007). These contrasting findings might be due to differences in duration of chewing (3 × 15 min of gum chewing versus a single, brief exposure), to methodological differences in the measurement of later food intake (self-report in a diary versus measured snack intake in the laboratory) or to cultural or individual differences between participants involved in each study.

Nevertheless chewing gum may not, in all consumers, reduce food intake. Modified sham feeding permits assessment of the learned anticipatory responses that help minimise the impact of consuming foods on the body (Woods, 1991) without the presence of nutrients in the gut. Sham feeding a meal has been shown to increase CPIR and pancreatic polypeptide (PP) release (Teff, 2010). Thus, chewing a sweetened gum may increase hunger in some individuals (Tordoff & Alleva, 1990). Since chewing a sweetened gum might stimulate salivation and CPIR in preparation for digestion, which is then not followed up with an energetic load gum chewing might promote rather than suppress food intake. This will depend on prior learning and exposure to chewing gum.

Consumers who regularly restrict food intake for weight management might benefit from chewing gum in order to control overconsumption or the temptation to snack, but only if gum is shown to suppress hunger, craving and food intake. Therefore, the present study set out to test the experimental hypothesis that prior chewing of sweetened gum will reduce subsequent snack food intake and subjective appetite in moderately restrained eaters.

Section snippets

Participants

Restrained eaters were recruited using a poster campaign around the university for a study of the effects of chewing gum on mood, stress, appetite and snacking. Volunteers were initially screened using a questionnaire (sent by email) and were subsequently interviewed (this included measurement of body mass index and completion of the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire: DEBQ, Van Strien, Frijters, Bergers, & Defares, 1986) if the questionnaire responses matched the selection criteria.

Participant characteristics

Of the 68 participants recruited to the study, eight individuals did not complete the study and these data were removed. Reasons given for failure to complete were timetable problems (n = 7) and in one case the participant failed to return for snack following lunch on the first day, with no reason provided. The remaining 60 participants (53 women, 7 men) ranged in BMI from 19.6 to 37.3 kg/m2 (mean = 26.2 ± 4 kg/m2 and ranged in age from 18 to 54 years (mean = 32.3 ± 10.7 years. Most participants (n = 32;

Discussion

The present study confirms and extends the observation by Hetherington and Boyland (2007) that chewing gum reduces subjective ratings of hunger and desire to eat a snack as well as the amount eaten of a highly palatable snack food, in this case in restrained eaters. Whilst in this experiment the difference in amount consumed was smaller than that reported previously (Hetherington & Boyland, 2007), this may be attributable to the fact that in this experiment restrained eaters consumed less snack

References (28)

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This research was funded, in part, by an educational award from the Wrigley Science Institute to the first author.

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