Effects of food diameter on bite size per mouthful and chewing behavior

Obesity is well known to be associated with a wide variety of illnesses, and is an increasing problem not only in developed countries but also in developing countries. It is well known that large bite size contributes to excess energy intake and obesity, whereas an increased number of chews before s...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journal of physiological sciences 2016-01, Vol.66 (1), p.93-98
Main Authors: Shiozawa, Kouichi, Ohnuki, Yoshiki, Mototani, Yasumasa, Umeki, Daisuke, Ito, Aiko, Saeki, Yasutake, Hanada, Nobuhiro, Okumura, Satoshi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Eating - physiology
Feeding Behavior - physiology
Female
Humans
Male
Mastication - physiology
Short Communication
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Obesity is well known to be associated with a wide variety of illnesses, and is an increasing problem not only in developed countries but also in developing countries. It is well known that large bite size contributes to excess energy intake and obesity, whereas an increased number of chews before swallowing the food bolus is associated with suppression of obesity. However, the effect of food diameter on bite size per mouthful and on chewing behavior remains poorly understood. Here, we examined the effects of food diameter on bite size and chewing behavior using a masticatory counter during the mastication of stick-type biscuits having the same length (10 cm) and ingredients, but with four different diameters (3.0, 3.5, 4.0, and 8.0 mm). Bite length and bite weight per mouthful were similar among the 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0 mm groups. However, bite length in the 8.0 mm group was significantly smaller, whereas bite weight was significantly greater than in the 3.0/3.5 mm groups. Further, the number of chews gradually increased, whereas the number of chews per bite weight gradually decreased, with an increase of biscuit diameter. These results indicate that a smaller biscuit diameter is associated with a smaller bite weight per mouthful and a greater number of chews per bite weight. This is the first report to quantity the effect of food diameter on bite weight per mouthful and on chewing behavior; these results should be helpful in the design of effective, safe, and low-cost behavioral modification therapy to combat obesity.
ISSN:1880-6546
1880-6562
DOI:10.1007/s12576-015-0411-6