The study was conducted by researchers in Harbin Medical University in China, who examined the chewing habit of obese young men and young men of normal weight. It turned out that people who chewed food 40 times rather than a typical 15 times tend to eat nearly 12 percent fewer calories. The team also found that the amount of chewing is connected to levels of several hormones that stimulate or reduce appetite. Research team said that these hormones may "represent useful targets for future obesity therapies, since regulating the levels of hormones may help people control their appetite. Since chewing more can result in fewer intake of calories by 12 percent, researchers believe that it could lead to a significant weight loss, with a possibility of shedding up to 25 lbs a year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than a third of American adults are obese, with the 2010 study showing that the estimated economic cost of obesity in the U.S. is likely to exceed $200 billion per year.