Chewing gum reduces cravings for sweets

Tuesday April 21, 2009 (foodconsumer.org) -- Chewing gum can help appetite control and reduce caloric intake, a new study presented at the American Society for Nutrition Scientific Sessions and Annual Meeting at Experimental Biology 2009 held on Sunday, April 19, in New Orleans.

The study led by researchers from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center and Louisiana State University showed Extra® sugar-free gum made by Wrigley can help control appetite, decrease calorie intake and reduce snack cravings. 

Chewing Extra sugar-free gum reduced intake of an afternoon snack by 40 calories and specifically reduced sweet snack intake by 60 calories, the study found.

Additionally, people chewing gum significantly suppressed their hunger, desire to eat and sweet snack cravings between lunch and an afternoon snack as compared to those who did not.

(Written by David Liu and edited by Heather kelley)