Chewing gum could help you shed the pounds as men who chew gum while walking go further, faster and have a higher heart rate, a study found. Both men and women over 40 who chewed while they walked had significantly higher heart rates and change in heart rate.
But only in older men was there also a significant increase in the distance walked, steps taken and walking speed. The findings could be a simple weight loss measure to beat the looming obesity crisis, scientists at Waseda University, Graduate School of Sport Sciences, in Tokyo said.
Dr Yuka Hamada explained: "Gum chewing has been reported to stimulate sympathetic nervous activity, and increase heart rate and energy expenditure. Therefore, because gum chewing increases the body’s energy expenditure, it may be an effective method of weight management. In addition, because exercise increases the energy expenditure, gum chewing while simultaneously exercising is expected to increase this metric more than either exercise or gum chewing alone.
"Combining exercise and gum chewing may be an effective way to manage weight. However, although previous studies have examined the effect of gum chewing while at rest on physiological functions such as heart rate and energy expenditure, to date, no studies have focused specifically on the effect of gum chewing while exercising. Currently, the effects of gum chewing while exercising on physical functions as well as physiological functions are not well understood."
The study recruited 46 men and women aged 21 to 69 for two trials in random order. In one trial, they were given two pellets of gum (1.5g and 3 kilocalories per pellet) while walking at their natural pace for 15 minutes after a one-hour rest period.
The control trial involved the same one-hour rest and 15-minute walk, however instead of gum to chew they were given a powder containing the same ingredients to eat. In each trial resting heart rate, mean heart rate during walking, distance covered, and cadence - the rate at which they took steps - were measured.
Mean walking speed was calculated from the distance travelled during the 15 minutes, and stride length was estimated from the mean walking speed and mean step count. Total energy expenditure during the walk was estimated based on the mean walking speed and the body mass of each participant.
The study found in all participants, the mean heart rate while walking as well as the change in heart rate from being at rest was significantly higher in the gum trial than in the control trial. The participants were then divided by sex and age.
While all ages experienced a significantly larger change in heart rate in the gum trial, middle-aged and elderly participants also had a significantly higher mean heart rate while walking compared to the control. Combining these analyses to incorporate both sex and age showed that chewing gum had the greatest effect in middle-aged and elderly men who experienced a significant positive effect on distance walked, mean walking speed, mean step counts, mean heart rate while walking, change in heart rate, and total energy expenditure compared to the control trial.
Dr Hamada said: "The results revealed that the heart rate increased when the participants chewed gum while walking. This effect was particularly apparent in middle-aged and elderly male participants, in whom the walking distance, heart rate, and energy expenditure (estimated from walking speed) increased.
"In the present study, gum chewing while walking increased various physical functions of middle-aged and elderly male participants, including walking distance and steps. Although the mechanism by which gum chewing while walking increases these physical functions is unknown, one possible mechanism is cardiac-locomotor synchronisation (CLS) or cardiac-locomotor coupling, which involves synchronisation of the heart rhythm and locomotor rhythm.
"The physiological significance of CLS is believed to arise from an increase in the maximum blood flow to active muscles, reduced cardiac afterload, and increased systole volume accompanying increased venous return. CLS is more likely to occur in elderly people than in young people.
"In this study, middle-aged and elderly male participants exhibited the greatest difference in the heart rate between the gum and control trials compared with young male participants and young, middle-aged and elderly female participants.
"Gum chewing increased the heart rate, and CLS possibly led to increases in the physical functions of walking distance and steps. Dr Hamada concluded: "Chewing gum while walking affects a number of physical and physiological functions in men and women of all ages. Our study also indicates that gum chewing while walking increased the walking distance and energy expenditure of middle-aged and elderly male participants in particular."
The research was presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO).