Chewing your food thoroughly might aid in weight management, according to research that will be published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Researchers from Iowa State University investigated what effect increasing the number of chews per portion had on food intake and appetite among 45 normal-weight, overweight, and obese people. First, the researchers established each person’s normal number of chews before swallowing. Then, on three occasions, each seven days apart, the study participants ate pizza rolls, and were told to chew each portion of food 100 per cent, 150 per cent, or 200 per cent of their baseline number of chews before swallowing.
When they chewed 150 per cent of baseline, food consumption dropped by 9.5 per cent, and when they chewed 200 per cent of baseline, food consumption dropped by 14.8 per cent. Chewing more increased the length of the meal and reduced the eating rate but did not affect appetite.
The researchers also found that normal-weight participants had a slower eating rate than the overweight and obese participants.
Chewing each bite of food more times may reduce food intake and could possibly aid in weight management, the researchers concluded.
