Relationship between chewing features and body mass index in young adolescents

Background Behavioural aspects of chewing may influence food intake, nutritional status and in turn body weight. Objectives The current study aimed to study chewing features in adolescents as they naturally occur in home-based settings, and to test for a possible association with weight status. Methods Forty-two adolescents (15.3 +/- 1.3 years) were recruited (21 with healthy-weight/21 with overweight). Using a smartphone-assisted wearable electromyographic device, the chewing features of each participant were assessed over one evening, including the evening meal, in their natural home setting. Results The mean (+/- SD) for chewing pace was 1.53 +/- 0.22 Hz, chewing power 30.1% +/- 4.8%, number of chewing episodes 63.1 +/- 36.7 and chewing time 11.0 +/- 7.7 minutes. The chewing pace of the group with overweight was slower than that of healthy weight (-0.20 Hz; 95% CI, -0.06 to -0.33;P =.005) while their chewing time was shorter (-4.9 minutes; 95% CI, 0.2-9.7;P =.044). A significant negative correlation was observed between BMIz-score and chewing pace (R= -.41;P =.007), and between BMIz-score and chewing time (R= -0.32;P= .039). Conclusion The current study suggests that adolescents who are overweight eat at a slower pace for a shorter period of time than their counterparts who are a healthy weight. This unexpected finding based on objective data appears to conflict with existing questionnaire findings but provides impetus for further work testing the effectiveness of changing eating behaviour as a weight-management intervention in youth.

Automated summary

The study found that overweight adolescents chewed at a slower pace and for a shorter time period compared to healthy-weight adolescents. There was a significant negative correlation between BMIz score and chewing pace, as well as chewing time. This unexpected finding may indicate a potential link between chewing behavior and weight status in youth, warranting further investigation into interventions targeting eating behavior for weight management.