Effect of habitual gum chewing on concentration while playing sports

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to clarify what the effects of chewing gum on the function of the body were, especially, in the case of enhancement of concentration while playing sports. Methods: The subjects were normal adults in their 20's who had no habit of gum chewing. They were divided into 2 groups; experimental group (gum chewing group) and control group (without gum chewing group). The gum chewing group was six men and three women (n=9), and the without gum chewing group was seven men and a woman (n=8). Two packets of gums (a total of 18 sticks: about 26 g) were chewed at any time in a day for a month by gum chewing group. Four measurement items selected were: massetter activity (EMG), occlusal force, grasping power and back strength as physical functioning. Darts were selected to measure concentration during playing sports. The measurements were taken over a month on seven different occasions; a starting date, after a day, after three days, after a week, after two weeks, after three weeks and after a month. Statistical analysis was performed on EMG, grasping power, occlusal force, back strength and dart scores by two-way ANOVA (Dr. SPSSII for Windows). Results: A significant increase was recognized in dart scores of the gum chewing group, compared to the without gum chewing (p=0.014). A significant wasn't recognized in other measurement items (p=0.151~0.999). Conclusions: From these results, there was the effect of habitual gum chewing on concentration while playing sports.