Chewing sugar-free gum helps lower calorie intake and reduces cravings for sweet snacks

New research from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center and Louisiana State University shows the potential role of Extra sugar-free gum in helping to control appetite, decrease calorie intake and reduce snack cravings.

Primary outcomes include:

• Chewing Extra sugar-free gum significantly reduced intake of an afternoon snack by 40 calories.
  • Chewing Extra sugar-free gum specifically reduced sweet snack intake by 60 calories.
• When participants chewed gum, hunger, desire to eat and sweet snack cravings were significantly suppressed between lunch and an afternoon snack as compared to when they did not chew gum.
• When participants chewed gum, they reported that their energy levels were maintained between lunch and an afternoon snack, and were significantly less drowsy as compared to when they did not chew gum during this same timeframe.

Overall, this study demonstrates the role of chewing gum in helping to decrease calorie intake from an afternoon snack, controlling appetite and reducing snack cravings. Nutritionists report that even small changes in caloric intake can have a significant impact in the long term. This research study supports the role of chewing sugar-free gum as an easy, practical tool for helping to manage snack intake and reducing sweet snack cravings.

A Research Summary with additional information on methodology is available upon request.

WHO: Paula J. Geiselman, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Pennington Biomedical Research Center and Louisiana State University , led the research study and can discuss the potential role of chewing gum on appetite control and snack food cravings.

Gilbert Leveille, Ph.D., Executive Director, Wrigley Science Institute , will also be available to discuss study findings and research on the Benefits of Chewing gum related to weight management and other areas including oral health, stress relief, and focus, alertness and concentration.