Acute and chronic effects of gum chewing on food reinforcement and energy intake

Effects of gum chewing on glycaemic control in women with gestational diabetes mellitus: A randomized controlled trial. Impact of chewing on hyperglycaemia in women with GDM

BACKGROUND

The amount of chewing might be relevant in reducing hyperglycaemia in diabetic patients. The study assessed the impact of enhanced chewing on glycaemic control in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).

METHODS

As an open-label, mono-centre randomized controlled trial, 59 women with recent diagnosis of GDM were included. They received either routine care or additional chewing gum intervention. SMBG was performed for five days.

RESULTS

No significant impact on mean values of postprandial glucose levels were observed. The estimated mean differences (intervention vs. control group) were: 4.9 mg/dl, 98.4 %CI -7.2-17.1 (breakfast); -4.5 mg/dl, 98.4 %CI -15.1-6.0 (lunch); -3.8 mg/dl, 98.4 %CI -15.9 to 8.4 (dinner). OGTT levels at 60 and 120 min. were associated with glucose levels after breakfast.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, no significant differences in blood glucose levels were observed between the groups and therefore major effects of chewing on hyperglycaemia in women with GDM could be excluded.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov; NCT03961542, Date of registration: 20.01.2019. Retrospectively registered.

Chewing Stimulation Reduces Appetite Ratings and Attentional Bias toward Visual Food Stimuli in Healthy-Weight Individuals

Based on the theory of incentive sensitization, the exposure to food stimuli sensitizes the brain’s reward circuits and enhances attentional bias toward food. Therefore, reducing attentional bias to food could possibly be beneficial in preventing impulsive eating. The importance of chewing has been increasingly implicated as one of the methods for reducing appetite, however, no studies to investigate the effect of chewing on attentional bias to food. In this study, we investigated whether chewing stimulation (i.e., chewing tasteless gum) reduces attentional bias to food as well as an actual feeding (i.e., ingesting a standardized meal) does. We measured reaction time, gaze direction and gaze duration to assess attentional bias toward food images in pairs of food and non-food images that were presented in a visual probe task (Experiment 1, n = 21) and/or eye-tracking task (Experiment 2, n = 20). We also measured appetite ratings using visual analog scale. In addition, we conducted a control study in which the same number of participants performed the identical tasks to Experiments 1 and 2, but the participants did not perform sham feeding with gum-chewing/actual feeding between tasks and they took a rest. Two-way ANOVA revealed that after actual feeding, subjective ratings of hunger, preoccupation with food, and desire to eat significantly decreased, whereas fullness significantly increased. Sham feeding showed the same trends, but to a lesser degree. Results of the visual probe task in Experiment 1 showed that both sham feeding and actual feeding reduced reaction time bias significantly. Eye-tracking data showed that both sham and actual feeding resulted in significant reduction in gaze direction bias, indexing initial attentional orientation. Gaze duration bias was unaffected. In both control experiments, one-way ANOVAs showed no significant differences between immediately before and after the resting state for any of the appetite ratings, reaction time bias, gaze direction bias, or gaze duration bias. In conclusion, chewing stimulation reduced subjective appetite and attentional bias to food, particularly initial attentional orientation to food. These findings suggest that chewing stimulation, even without taste, odor, or ingestion, may affect reward circuits and help prevent impulsive eating.

Chewing gum decreases energy intake at lunch following a controlled breakfast

The impact of chewing gum on fasting appetite or meal intake has not been studied. We tested the hypothesis that chewing gum would decrease lunch intake after a controlled breakfast, and reduce hunger in fasting and fed states. Seventeen males and sixteen females (21.4 ± 6.3y, BMI 23.8 ± 2.7 kg/m²) participated in a randomized crossover study in which subjects chewed sugar-free gum a total of 1 h on the test day (GC), and did not chew gum on a control day (NG). The 1 h of gum chewing included 20 min while fasting, and two 20-min sessions between breakfast and lunch. Subjects rated their appetite and mood on visual analog scales. After completing the fasting measures, subjects consumed a breakfast shake containing 30% of their measured resting energy expenditure. Three hours later they consumed an ad libitum lunch with water. Fasting ratings of hunger were lower in GC than NG (t = 2.66, p = 0.01). Subjects consumed significantly less pasta (41 g, 68 kcals, t = 2.32, p = 0.03) during GC than NG. In conclusion, gum chewing decreased fasting hunger ratings and lunch energy consumed. Chewing gum may be a useful tool impacting energy balance in this population. Longer studies, especially in other populations, will be required.

Candy consumption patterns, effects on health, and behavioral strategies to promote moderation: summary report of a roundtable discussion

Nearly all Americans (97%) report eating candy at least once per year; yet, on a given day, only approximately one-fourth of the US population aged ≥2 y consumes candy. Among all Americans, candy contributes a relatively small proportion of calories, added sugars, and saturated fat to the total diet, and recent research suggests that current levels of candy consumption are not associated with risk of weight gain and cardiovascular disease in children and adults. Providing guidance for the consumption of candy in moderation requires an understanding of various behavioral health-related factors that influence candy consumption. A roundtable of behavioral nutrition experts, researchers, and nutrition educators met to discuss recent data on intakes of candy, health outcomes associated with usual candy intake, and the impact of behavioral strategies, including restriction, education, and environmental awareness, on modifying eating behaviors to achieve moderate intakes of candy. Restricting access to palatable foods, whether self-imposed or by parental control, may have potentially negative consequences. Techniques and insight into how to adopt "moderation" in candy consumption, from effective parental practices to environmental strategies that facilitate behavior change without a high degree of effort, were identified as important next steps toward sustainable dietary guidance related to the role of candy and other treats in a healthy lifestyle.

Acute and chronic caffeine administration increases physical activity in sedentary adults

Caffeine is a commonly used stimulant thought to have ergogenic properties. Most studies on the ergogenic effects of caffeine have been conducted in athletes. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that caffeine reduces ratings of perceived exertion and increases liking of physical activity in sedentary adults. Participants completed treadmill walking at 60% to 70% of their maximal heart rate at baseline and for 6 subsequent visits, during which half of the participants were given caffeine (3 mg/kg) and half given placebo in a sports drink vehicle. To investigate the potential synergistic effects of acute and chronic caffeine on self-determined exercise duration, participants were rerandomized to either the same or different condition for the last visit, creating 4 chronic/acute treatment groups (placebo/placebo, placebo/caffeine, caffeine/placebo, caffeine/caffeine). Participants rated how much they liked the activity and perceived exertion at each visit. There was a main effect of time on liking of physical activity, with liking increasing over time and an interaction of sex and caffeine treatment on liking, with liking of activity increasing in female participants treated with caffeine, but not with placebo. There was no effect of caffeine on ratings of perceived exertion. Individuals who received caffeine on the final test day exercised for significantly longer than those who received placebo. These data suggest that repeated exposure to physical activity significantly increases liking of exercise and reduces ratings of perceived exertion and that caffeine does little to further modify these effects.