Can chewing gum help you walk faster, burn more calories?

Chewing gum. Whether you munch on it because you're bored or restless, because you simply enjoy the taste, or as a quick fix after a very umami meal, you've probably had a fair share of it in your life. But does chewing gum bring surprising benefits that we hadn't considered?

According to recent data, in 2017 alone, 174.74 million people in the United States declared that they habitually use bubblegum or chewing gum.

But whether, and to what extent, chewing gum may aid or endanger health has been a matter of dispute.

Research demonstrates that sugar-free gum, specifically, is actually good for your teeth, because it can prevent decay andplaque formation.

One paper also found that munching on gum can help to alleviate stress, which, the study authors hypothesized, may be due to increased blood flow to the brain.

But other studies, including one published in the journal Eating Behaviors, concluded that a gum-chewing habit reduced individuals' appetite for healthful snacks, such as fruit, but did nothing to curb their preference for junk foods, such as chips.

Now, however, scientists at the Waseda University Graduate School of Sport Sciences in Tokyo, Japan, have turned their attention in a different direction, asking whether chewing gum while walking could in any way influence a person's physiological functions.

The study, which was conducted by Yuka Hamada and colleagues from Waseda University, has yielded interesting results for those looking to understand how even one of their smallest daily habits could impact their body and its use of energy.

Hamada and team reported their results last week at the European Congress on Obesity, held in Vienna, Austria.