Craving some Juicy Fruit or Double Bubble? A new study published in The Journal of Physical Therapy Science found that chewing gum while walking increases heart rates for both men and women — and burns more calories for men. The study, performed at Tokyo’s Waseda University, took male and female participants from ages 21-69 to test their theory.
One group was given chewing gum and walked on a treadmill for 15 minutes. The other group was given the same substance that chewing gum has, but in a swallow-able form, and walked on a treadmill for 15 minutes as well. After calculating the data, the researchers discovered that the average heart rate for both genders significantly increased while walking and chewing gum. However, it was men who were over 40 that also saw a significant calorie burn while chewing the gum. Women did not see much calorie change.
Though the exact reason for the chewing gum phenomena could not be explained, researchers speculate that the heart rate increase was linked to cardiac-locomotor synchronization, a mechanism which synchronizes the cardiac rhythm and an individual’s locomotor rhythm. Time to start chewing!
