Older men benefit most from chewing gum

Debate on pros and cons

According to recent data, in 2017 alone, approximately 174.74 million Americans reported chewing gum. But whether or not chewing gum use and its frequency can be beneficial or harmful to health remains a matter of debate.

Research has shown that chewing sugar-free gum is actually good for your teeth, as it can prevent cavities and plaque buildup. One study found that chewing gum can help reduce stress, which is thought to be due to increased blood flow to the brain.

But other studies have found that chewing gum reduces people's appetite for healthy snacks like fruit, but doesn't reduce cravings for unhealthy snacks like chips or the like.

However, scientists at the Graduate School of Sports Science, Waseda University, Japan have now turned their attention in another direction, which is to study whether chewing gum while walking can affect a person's physiological functions.

This study has produced interesting results for those who are interested in understanding how even small daily habits affect the body and its energy use. The publication was reported atEuropean Scientific Conference on Obesityheld in Vienna, Austria.

Chewing gum increases heart rate

Volunteers aged 21-69 agreed to take part in two different trials. In the first trial, they were asked to chew two pieces of chewing gum, each weighing 1.5 grams and containing 3 kcal of energy, while walking for 15 minutes (after resting for 1 hour) at a normal pace.

The second study was a control study, in which participants were asked to swallow a powder containing the same ingredients instead of chewing gum. The results were interesting: in all participants, the average heart rate while walking increased when they chewed gum. The same was true for the change in heart rate while moving compared to resting.

Older men benefit most

To understand whether there are any effects associated with significant physiological differences insexandage groupWhether or not, the research team conducted analyses that took these factors into account. In it, they divided participants into groups of male and female, young (18-39 years old) or middle-aged and older (40-69 years old).

They noted that both men and women had higher average heart rates while walking and had higher heart rate variability when transitioning from rest to movement if they walked and chewed gum.

In the case of male participants, the average walking distance in 15 minutes and the average walking speed increased significantly in the gum-chewing test. However, this was not true for female participants. Similarly, people aged 40-69 also showed greater heart rate variability in the gum-chewing test than younger participants.

Scientists concluded that chewing gum while walking affected a variety of physical and physiological functions in men and women of all ages. They also noted that male participants appeared to benefit the most. The study showed that chewing gum while walking increased distance traveled and increased energy expenditure, especially in middle-aged and older men.