@article{565e8bffa6b547c8ac0bb0aee4fbd31c,
title = "The cost of chewing: The energetics and evolutionary significance of mastication in humans",
abstract = "Any change in the energetic cost of mammalian mastication will affect the net energy gain from foods. Although the energetic efficiency of masticatory effort is fundamental in understanding the evolution of the human masticatory system, nothing is known currently about the associated metabolic costs of chewing different items. Here, using respirometry and electromyography of the masseter muscle, we demonstrate that chewing by human subjects represents a measurable energy sink. Chewing a tasteless odorless gum elevates metabolic rate by 10 to 15% above basal levels. Energy expenditure increases with gum stiffness and is paid for by greater muscle recruitment. For modern humans, it is likely that mastication represents a small part of the daily energy budget. However, for our ancestors, before the onset of cooking and sophisticated food processing methods, the costs must have been relatively high, adding a previously unexplored energetic dimension to the interpretation of hominin dentofacial fossils.",
author = "{van Casteren}, Adam and Codd, {Jonathan R} and Kornelius Kupczik and Guy Plasqui and Sellers, {William I} and Henry, {Amanda G}",
note = "Funding Information: We wish to extend our thanks to P. W. Lucas, whose work and discussions were central to this project{\textquoteright}s inception and for reading and commenting on early drafts of the paper. P. Lucas{\textquoteright} deep research legacy, ideas, and connections provided the framework on which this project was based, but especially, his story, related to both A.v.C. and A.G.H., of the attempt to consume large volumes of carrots in a respirometry chamber inspired us to try to measure the costs of chewing. Thanks also to S. Gur Arieh and N. Stephens whose discussion over chewing times at the lunch table inspired us to revisit P. Lucas{\textquoteright} hypotheses. This work was supported by the European Research Council (ERC) [grant number STG–677576 (“HARVEST”)], Max Planck Weizmann Center for Integrative Archaeology and Anthropology (funded by the Max Planck Society), and Biotechnology and Biosciences Research Council BBSRC BB/G011338/1 and BB/I021116/1. Publisher Copyright: Copyright {\textcopyright} 2022 The Authors, some rights reserved.",
year = "2022",
month = aug,
day = "19",
doi = "10.1126/sciadv.abn8351",
language = "English",
volume = "8",
journal = "Science advances",
issn = "2375-2548",
publisher = "American Association for the Advancement of Science",
number = "33",
}