It is the holy grail of weight loss: a drug that is as effective as drugs like Ozempic, without the dreaded side effects.
And according to TikTok videos shared by experts, such a golden ticket might exist.
In response to claims that chewing gum triggers the release of the same appetite-suppressing hormone as the drug, says top dietitian Scherp Abbey To TikTok followers: “Early small studies suggest that chewing gum may indeed help stimulate GLP-1 in the gut, which is responsible for the appetite reduction seen with drugs like Ozempic.”
Ms Sharp added that another study found that fullness levels were ‘significantly greater’ and hunger levels were lower in people who chewed gum for half an hour, compared to those who did not chew.
And the studies are also small; Sharp – who has nearly 800,000 followers on TikTok – says these results are consistent with other research showing that chewing gum can help curb food cravings.
However, she says the difference in perceived hunger between participants who chewed gum and those who didn’t only reached a length of 20 percent.
“So this study doesn’t suggest that chewing a piece of gum makes you feel full,” says Sharp.
“For example, you will still be hungry because you haven’t eaten anything at all.”
She also notes that the experiments only tracked hunger over the course of 30 minutes and that it is likely that hunger peaks after another half hour, leading to snacking.
Dr. Sharp describes research showing how chewing gum can increase feelings of fullness.
The research in this area should not be interpreted as an ‘invitation’ to chew gum all day instead of actually eating.
This behavior would be classified as disordered and could indicate a serious eating disorder, Sharp says.
“But if you love chewing gum and are working on losing weight, maintaining a healthy, modest calorie deficit can help you stay on track.”
“And more importantly, what I hope you get out of this is that you need to chew your damn food.”
If you expect to get the exact same effects of Ozempic with chewing gum, you will probably be disappointed.
A 2006 British study found that participants who chewed gum for an extended period of time before a meal ate about 40 fewer calories than those who did not chew.
By comparison, the studies with Ozempic found that people who inject the drug eat about 25 percent fewer calories compared to control subjects.
In the US, approximately nine million prescriptions for the successful weight-loss drug are written every three months.