Relationships among Masticatory Ability, Handgrip Strength, and Dietary Habits in Subjects Ranging in Age from Children to Elderlies

Abstract

Objectives: We examined the relationships among masticatory ability, physical fitness, and dietary habits of the general public. Methods: Masticatory ability using a chewing-gum method and handgrip strength measurements were obtained from 2,104 subjects aged 3 to 97 years old (767 males, 1,337 females). We then analyzed the relationships among masticatory ability, handgrip strength (as an index of physical fitness), and dietary habits with the latter data collected from aquestionnaire regarding diet over 3 days collected from 57 of the subjects (21 males, 36 females). Results: Masticatory ability was ignificantly correlated to handgrip strength (male: r =0.492, p < 0.001, female: r = 0.481, p<0.001), and a significant difference was found between subjects who exercised habitually and those who did not exercise habitually (male: p <0.05, female: p <0.001, x2 -test) . From the self-reported dietary questionnaire, th numbers ofdifferent foods ingested per day were totalled and percentage of hard foods was calculated. We found a slight correlation between the number ofdifferent foods ingested during breakfast (r = 0.364, p <0.05) and masticatory ability whereas there was no relationship between masticatory ability and the percentage of hard foods consumed. Conclusion: Our esults suggest that the correlation between masticatory ability and physical fitness i higher than between masticatory ability and dietary habits, and we concluded that exercise is very important to maintain orimprove masticatory ability. Itwas also suggested that it is more important to ingest a variety of foods, especially during breakfast, rather than only hard food.