Diets: Fletcherizing

The great masticator of great masticators! Anyone a Groundhog Day fan???

Our next diet was popularized in the late 19th century by Horace Fletcher, who was known as the "great masticator." He struggled with stomach issues and obesity, and finally decided to take matters into his own hands after being denied life insurance due to his weight.*

Fletcher was not the first person to consider precision chewing, but he popularized a form of dieting known as Fletcherism. As you read about the intricacies of Fletcher's diet, you may laugh and think it's ridiculous. I think it is, as well, BUT some remnants of Fletcherism are still part of dieting today. (Is this part of diet culture, or is there something to extra chewing?)

Fletcher did not necessarily recommend avoiding food groups, per se, but he proposed masticating/chewing food and beverages excessively. According to Fletcher, everything needs to be “munched or tasted out of existence.”

Soup: Chew it.

Wine: Chew it.

Milk: Chew it.

Alcohol: Can you guess? Chew it!

Fletcherites were known as the Chew Chew Cult.

Fletcher had copious cards listing the number of chews per food. For example, 1/5th of an ounce of shallot requires 722 chews to dissolve for swallowing.

Interestingly, Fletcher was an advocate for skipping breakfast. Why? Because you didn't earn it.

O-kay.

Fletcher also believed that once an individual acclimated to the diet, their mouth would naturally have a sweet aftertaste, and they would no longer crave sweets. (Or could it be that he took the joy out of eating? Who wants a cookie that's been chewed 500 times?)

Again, food selections for meals were pretty standard for the time. Below is an example of a meal Horace Fletcher consumed:

Meat

Bread and butter

Potato

Coffee and milk

Iced water (by itself, not at meals)

According to Fletcher, this meal required about 2,500 chews to complete. Unsurprisingly, Fletcher was successful in losing weight – within four months, he went from 205 pounds to 163 pounds.

Over a hundred years later, a pilot study was conducted on chewing rate and its potential for weight loss. The results indicated that, regardless of meal length, increasing the number of chews per mouthful decreases the amount of calories consumed. Likewise, a study conducted in 2018 showed that eating faster is linked to increased BMI and waist circumference.

Another study conducted in 2021 showed that slowing down and thoroughly chewing food increases diet-induced thermogenesis. In other words, there was an increase in calories burned.

So, yes, there is potential for some weight control with slower meals and more thorough chewing. But this doesn't mean there is evidence for precision chewing (i.e., 100 bites per minute, liquifying everything, all solid foods), as Fletcher recommended.

In his book, The New Glutton or Epicure, Fletcher wrote that the only way to eat was the “Epicurean Way,” and any other way of eating was “piggish gluttony.” Based on what I've read, he seems like a unique individual with an interesting life, but I disagree with his philosophy on eating and diet.

The positives: It could help with weight loss, but at what cost?

The negatives: This diet borders on disordered eating and is low in fiber, and it may be difficult for people with poor dental health.

Would I recommend this diet to a client? I would not recommend this diet - or rather, method of eating.

P.S. If you like weird trivia, Horace Fletcher was obsessed with poo. You can read more interesting facts about him in Never Satisfied. A Cultural History of Diets, Fantasies & Fat by Hillel Schwartz.

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*Reference

1. Fletcher, H. (1906). The New Glutton or Epicure. New York, Frederick A. Stokes Company. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_New_Glutton_Or_Epicure/lDEEAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PR3&printsec=frontcover

2. Hamada Y, Hayashi N. (2021). Chewing increases postprandial diet-induced thermogenesis. Sci Rep.,11(1):23714.

3. Smit, H.J., Kemsley, E.K., Tapp, H.S., and Henry, C.J.K. Henry. (2011). Does prolonged chewing reduce food intake? Fletcher revisited, 57, 295-298.

4. Sonoda, C. et al. (2018). Associations among obesity, eating speed, and oral health. Obes. Facts 11, 165–175.