Chews and swallows and the microstructure of eating.

The study of eating behavior in animals and humans shows that much is learned if detailed and sensitive measurement of the ingestive process can be made. It is possible to measure all chews and swallows of human subjects during a meal. This proves to be a sensitive way to measure the microstructure of a meal, reflecting hunger, palatability, and satiation. The oral sensor promises to be an unobtrusive and objective method of measuring all meals, snacks, and nibbling throughout the day. The oral sensor should provide a means of evaluating both the palatability and the satiating value of foods and the role of hunger and other manipulations of the internal environment in changing the chewing and swallowing microstructure of eating.