Can Chewing Gum Help You Lose Weight?

It sounds so promising: Chewing gum (sugarless, of course) for 20 minutes three times during the morning makes you naturally eat about 70 fewer calories at lunch, without compensating for it later in the day. Plus, you burn a few extra calories doing all that chewing. Keep it up for a year and you could lose 8 pounds without even trying.

It was one of those small, quirky studies (35 people) that got all kinds of media attention 2 years ago . . . and led to a larger follow-up study of about 201 people, all overweight. The just-in upshot? If only.

After 8 weeks, there was no significant weight-loss difference between the gum chewers (half the group) and the gum-free group, even though the chewers kept at it for at least 90 minutes a day. That's a lot of chewing. (Mindful eating could work better. Try it with these video tips.)

Still, taking part in the study wasn't a total wash. Everyone in both groups was trying to lose weight and got basic help doing it, and half of 'em received a ton of gum. Yet both groups emerged with somewhat smaller waists and healthier blood pressure. The gum group said in a mild-mannered way that chewing gum curbed snack cravings, helped them stay on their diets, and trimmed night-time eating. So, you guessed it, there'll likely be another study to figure out why.

Interesting disclaimer: Both studies got funding from, ahem, the Wrigley Science Institute, which presumably was thrilled by the first results. The second results? Probably not so much.

Chewing gum may better help you shed stress than lose weight.