Chewing gum consumption in the United States among children, adolescents and adults

Data regarding chewing gum consumption habits and attitudes were collected for 963 children and adolescents (aged 6–14) and 3150 adolescents and adults (aged 13 years+) in the United States (U.S.) using a dedicated online food frequency questionnaire. A total of 79.6% of children/adolescents reported using chewing gum in the last 3 months, whereas 61.8% of adolescents/adults chewed gum in the previous 6 months. The mean and 90th percentile of consumption among children/adolescents aged 6–14 were 1.95 and 4.71 g day⁻¹, equivalent to 0.75 and 1.78 pieces per day, respectively. Stratification by gender and age brackets revealed that the consumption of chewing gum was more heavily reported in boys compared to girls. Among adolescents/adults aged 13 years and older, the mean and 90th percentile of consumption of chewing gum was estimated to be 2.98 and 7.67 g day⁻¹, or 1.05 and 3.00 pieces per day, respectively. Stratification by gender and by age brackets in this cohort did not reveal any marked patterns although it was noted that there was a decrease in the percent consuming with age (from 87.0 to 34.5%). The most commonly reported chew frequency among all ages was ‘two or three times a week’ (23.7 to 26.8%). The average and high-level estimates reported herein provide up-to-date estimates of chewing gum consumption in the U.S. Comparisons of the calculated intake values with those reported from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey dataset suggests that national nutrition surveys may result in an under-reporting of the percent consumers, but similar estimates for the daily intakes in g day⁻¹.

本数据集通过专用线上食物频率问卷，收集了美国境内963名儿童及青少年（6~14岁）与3150名青少年及成人（13岁及以上）的口香糖消费习惯与态度相关数据。其中79.6%的儿童/青少年报告称近3个月内存在口香糖咀嚼行为，而61.8%的青少年/成人在过去6个月内咀嚼过口香糖。6~14岁儿童/青少年的日均口香糖消费量均值与90分位数分别为1.95克/天与4.71克/天，折合每日0.75块与1.78块。按性别与年龄组进行分层分析后可见，男孩的口香糖消费报告率显著高于女孩。对于13岁及以上的青少年/成人群体，其日均口香糖消费量均值与90分位数分别为2.98克/天与7.67克/天，折合每日1.05块与3.00块。该队列按性别与年龄组分层后未显现显著的消费模式差异，但观察到随年龄增长，口香糖消费人群占比呈下降趋势（从87.0%降至34.5%）。所有年龄段人群中最常见的咀嚼频率为“每周两至三次”，占比区间为23.7%至26.8%。本文报告的平均与高水平消费量估算值，为美国人群的口香糖消费情况提供了最新的参考数据。将本次计算的摄入量数据与美国国家健康与营养检查调查（National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey）数据集的报告结果进行对比后发现，全国性营养调查可能会低估口香糖消费人群占比，但在以克/天为单位的日均摄入量估算上结果相近。