A new article has carried out a systematic review of the research looking a chewing gum and attention. The review indicates that a modest majority (14/22) of papers found a positive effect of chewing gum on attention, while a handful of others showed both positive and negative effects (5/22), while a minority showed no significant effect (2/22) or just a negative effect (1/22). The article also points out that the exact mechanism underlying such an effect remains somewhat mysterious, even though numerous theories have been put forward. The literature is not perfect (there could be more positive controls to help untangle mechanisms and effect sizes), but it does seem to suggest a positive effect.
It's an open access article, so it's freely available to anyone who wants to read it.
On a less positive note, I've encountered a recent paper suggesting that excessive chewing gum consumption amongst adolescents could be linked to headaches, so everything in moderation...
P.S. Note also that I've learnt my lesson about pics after the sexism accusation debacle (see previous post on sexism).
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