Cross-sectional analysis of age-related changes in the fluctuation of bite size

It has been reported that individual adults generally take consistently sized bites when eating the same food, while children do not. The present cross-sectional analysis was performed on 60 children and 20 adults to ascertain the age-related changes in the fluctuation in bite size and in the number of chews per bite. The subjects comprised four age groups (5-, 8-, and 11-year-old children and adults), with each group consisting of 10 males and 10 females. The subjects were instructed to take a bite of each of four test foods (bread, sausage, apple and rice), and they were allowed to chew and swallow as usual. After each bite, the remaining food was weighed to calculate the bite size. The fluctuations in bite size and in the number of chews were analyzed using coefficients of variation. The fluctuations in both bite size and the number of chews decreased with age, so that the 11-year-olds showed almost the same values as adults. The present results suggested that the physiological functions related to recognizing and consuming foods mature during early adolescence, when almost all permanent teeth have erupted. The present findings also indicated that the fluctuation in bite size might be an indicator of the maturation of masticatory function in children.