Does prolonged chewing reduce food intake? Fletcherism revisited

Hendrik Jan Smit, E. Katherine Kemsley, Henri S. Tapp, C. Jeya K. Henry

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    86 Citations (SciVal)

    Abstract

    Horace Fletcher (1849-1919) spread his doctrine to chew each mouthful thoroughly in order to prevent gaining weight. We sought to test this idea by manipulating chewing instructions whilst using electromyography to monitor chewing behaviour. Comparing 35 with 10 chews per mouthful, we showed that higher chewing counts reduced food intake despite increasing chewing speed, and despite doubling meal duration for achieving a subjective reference point for feeling 'comfortably full'. Although limited by a low sample size, our preliminary findings confirm Mr. Fletcher's doctrine, and provide a basis for further research in this area. Outcomes and implications are discussed. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)295-298
    Number of pages4
    JournalAppetite
    Volume57
    Issue number1
    Early online date11 Feb 2011
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Aug 2011

    Keywords

    • Mastication
    • Energy intake
    • Electromyography
    • Satiation
    • UNIVERSAL EATING MONITOR
    • GLUCAGON-LIKE PEPTIDE-1
    • PARTICLE-SIZE
    • ENERGY-INTAKE
    • BITE SIZE
    • SATIETY
    • WOMEN
    • OBESE
    • HUMANS
    • MASTICATION

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