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Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Meal Duration as a Measure of Orofacial Nociceptive Responses in Rodents
Published on: January 10, 2014
Does prolonged chewing reduce food intake? Fletcherism revisited
Hendrik Jan Smit1, E Katherine Kemsley, Henri S Tapp
1Functional Food Centre, School of Life Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Gipsy Lane, Headington, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK. henk.smit@bristol.ac.uk
Abstract:
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. Fletcher's doctrine, and provide a basis for further research in this area. Outcomes and implications are discussed.
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