Chewing Gum for Weight Loss

Exclusion Criteria

• •Any major disease including:
• •Active cancer or cancer requiring treatment \< 2 years (except nonmelanoma skin cancer).
• •Active or chronic infections including self-reported HIV and active tuberculosis.
• •Active cardiovascular disease or event with hospitalization; or therapeutic procedures for treatment of heart disease \<6 months; or New York Heart Association Functional Class \>2 for congestive heart failure, stroke or transient ischemic attack \< 6 months.
• •Uncontrolled hypertension: ≥SBP 160 mm Hg or DBP ≥95 mm Hg on treatment.
• •GI disease: self-reported chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis; alcoholic hepatitis or alcoholic pancreatitis \< 12 months; inflammatory bowel disease treatment \< 12 months; recent or significant abdominal surgery.
• •Renal disease: serum creatinine ≥1.4 mg/dL (124 μmol/L) for men; ≥1.3 mg/dL (115 μmol/L) for women.
• •Lung disease: chronic obstructive airway disease with use of oxygen.
• •Diagnosed diabetes (type 1 or 2), fasting hyperglycemia (blood glucose ≥ 126 mg/dL), or use of any anti-diabetic medications.
• •Uncompensated or uncontrolled psychiatric disease that would impede conduct of the trial or completion of procedures.
• •Phenylketonuria.
• •Temporomandibular joint disorders.
• •\< 16 natural, fully crowned, or restored teeth in a good state of repair.
• •Inadequate oral hygiene.
• •Sensitivity to flavors, sweeteners, or other ingredients in sugar-free chewing gum.
• •Refusal to chew gum per study guidelines.
• •Currently chewing ≥5 sticks of gum per week.
• •Weight loss or gain of \>10% in the past 6 months except post-partum weight loss.
• •Current participation in any weight-reduction program.
• •Current smoker or quit \< 6 months.
• •History of prior surgical procedure for weight control or liposuction.
• •Unable or unwilling to give informed consent; unable to communicate with clinic staff; another household member is a participant or staff member in the trial; unwilling to accept randomization; current or anticipated participation in another intervention research project that would interfere with the intervention offered in the trial; likely to move away before trial completed; unable to walk 0.25 mile in 10 minutes.
• •Currently pregnant or \< 3 months post partum; currently nursing or within 6 weeks of having completed nursing; pregnancy anticipated during study; unwilling to report possible or confirmed pregnancies promptly during the trial; unwilling to take adequate contraceptive measures if potentially fertile.
• •Brief Symptom Inventory score (Derogatis \& Melisaratos, 1983) \> 90th percentile.