Enjoy a flavorful snack and lose weight at the same time? It may seem too good to be true, but according to an article in the Los Angeles Times, chewing gum might be the weight loss aid that dieters are looking for in a sea of weight loss gimmicks. For some, it may be considered a bad habit, but for the first time, it is being promoted by a gum manufacturer (Wrigley's) as a tool for managing weight.
For those trying to slim their waistlines, too much snacking can impede progress. This is where chewing gum can come in handy. At just five to ten calories per stick, gum can be a flavorful and long-lasting snack that doesn’t carry nearly as many calories as, say, cookies or chocolate. Researchers at the University of Liverpool provided lunches and snacks to sixty subjects on four separate days. On half of their visits, the subjects chewed two sticks of gum (either regular or sugar-free) in the hours after lunch. After chewing either type of gum, the subjects said they felt less hungry. In addition, when they were offered cookies, chips, and candy three hours after lunch, they consumed an average of thirty-six fewer calories. That's not many calories, but cumulatively there could be a noticeable effect.
On the other hand, a study done at Purdue University concluded that chewing gum has no noticeable effect on appetite suppression. However, this conclusion was based on self-reports, not actual measured food intake, which could mean people overlooked the small effect gum has on a daily basis.
It is important to note that although gum has few calories, there is a small health risk involved if one consumes too much sugar-free gum. So, how much is too much? According to a report in the British Medical Journal, a girl who chewed about fifteen sticks of sugar-free gum each day developed severe diarrhea and lost twenty pounds in just eight months. (She weighed only about 110 pounds to begin with.) The reason she fell ill was because of the overconsumption of the natural sweetener, sorbitol, which is present in many sugar-free varieties of chewing gum. Sorbitol is poorly absorbed in the intestinal tract, which is why it provides fewer than the four calories per gram that would be found in regular sugar. Although this makes it a great sugar substitute, it also means that it remains in the intestinal tract, attracts water and provides a good environment for bacterial action. This can lead to diarrhea at times. The researchers reported that one-half of a population of healthy people would suffer from the same symptoms if they consumed twenty grams of sorbitol on a daily basis.
All in all, though, chewing gum is a low-calorie snack that can help those watching their weight avoid other, less healthy options.
Krystal Wilson is a research intern at the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH.org, HealthFactsAndFears.com).