This is how many calories your chewing gum habit is costing you

Turns out your chewing gum habit is racking up a lot more calories than you might think

We don't really think anything of chewing gum when it comes to our diets. It's just a small thing that you have a few times a day to keep your breath fresh, or because you just need to chew on something. You know, no biggie.

Well, have you ever stopped and took a minute to think about how many calories are in your gum habit? Probably not. But, as it turns out, the calories we rack up as a result of chowing down on a stick of minty freshness do add up to a considerable amount, according to Metro.co.uk.

The average piece of sugar-free gum weighs in at between two and five calories – for example, Extra and Wrigley's sugar free gum is five calories a piece, whereas Airwaves' sugar-free version is just three per piece. It doesn't sound like much at all, but if you're the sort of person who chews gum, say, five times a day, you're coming close to consuming an extra 10,000 calories in a year. And that's quite a considerable amount.

Of course, that's just thinking about sugar-free chewing gum alone – just imagine how much you're racking up if you opt for the sugar-filled version instead (gum containing sugar is on average an extra five calories per piece). We don't really want to think about it, actually, thanks.

Yikes. This is so not ideal. Is it time we took a step back from the Wrigley's, then? Apparently, no. According to the Mayo clinic, you pretty much burn off all of the calories accrued from chewing sugar-free gum while you're still chewing it, at an average of 11 calories per hour.

Phew. We can continue to chew to our heart's content in peace, then. No need to panic.