Does prolonged chewing reduce food intake? Fletcherism revisited

Horace Fletcher (1849–1919) spread his doctrine to chew each mouthful thoroughly in order to prevent gaining weight. We sought to test this idea by manipulating chewing instructions whilst using electromyography to monitor chewing behaviour. Comparing 35 with 10 chews per mouthful, we showed that higher chewing counts reduced food intake despite increasing chewing speed, and despite doubling meal duration for achieving a subjective reference point for feeling ‘comfortably full’. Although limited by a low sample size, our preliminary findings confirm Mr. Fletcherʹs doctrine, and provide a basis for further research in this area. Outcomes and implications are discussed.