# Does eating rice make your jaws bigger? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 3, 2018, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-eating-rice-make-your-jaws-bigger/813535 "2018-05-03T19:15:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Contemplation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Contemplation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contemplation)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-eating-rice-make-your-jaws-bigger/813535/1 "2018-05-03T19:15:33Z")
Its often said that the foods you eat develop your jaw. I notice Chinese people have bigger jaws and cheekbones, so would eating rice everyday make your jaws and cheeks bigger and stronger looking? For example, lets say someone were to eat a bowl of rice every day for a year. Would their jaw grow? BTW: They still eat other foods besides rice so they don’t die. BTW: Chinese people eat a lot of rice. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-eating-rice-make-your-jaws-bigger/813535/2 "2018-05-03T19:29:14Z")
I ate rice and beans, 2 meals a day, every day for 2 years. My jaw didn’t grow per se, but also I lost approximately 40 pounds and had very little fat in my face. Relatively speaking, that gave me a more highly defined, “stronger looking” jaw I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-eating-rice-make-your-jaws-bigger/813535/3 "2018-05-03T19:37:03Z")
Why would eating a bowl of rice be any different than eating a bowl of cereal every day? Or a bowl of beans, a bowl of pasta, etc? ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-eating-rice-make-your-jaws-bigger/813535/4 "2018-05-03T19:45:13Z")
If you’re asking if your cheek and jawbone is going to change shape because of your diet, no. There are questionable exercises you can do that may “improve” the musculature in your face. But foods? Losing weight will make your jaw look “bigger” because everything else got smaller. I have also seen no evidence than asians on the whole have bigger jaws than anybody else. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-eating-rice-make-your-jaws-bigger/813535/5 "2018-05-03T19:46:50Z")
> [@Contemplation](#): > > Its often said that the foods you eat develop your jaw. . Funny, I’ve never heard that. ---
**Author:** ![RedSwinglineOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9adbd/32.png) [@RedSwinglineOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedSwinglineOne)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-eating-rice-make-your-jaws-bigger/813535/6 "2018-05-03T19:50:53Z")
> [@Contemplation](#): > > … so would eating rice everyday make your jaws and cheeks bigger and stronger looking? > > … 😕 Am I making rice wrong? When you think of things that are difficult to chew, rice tops the list? ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-eating-rice-make-your-jaws-bigger/813535/7 "2018-05-03T19:58:13Z")
> [@RedSwinglineOne](#): > > 😕 > > Am I making rice wrong? When you think of things that are difficult to chew, rice tops the list? Maybe he got a batch of that fake “plastic rice” that’s rumored to be in circulation. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-eating-rice-make-your-jaws-bigger/813535/8 "2018-05-03T20:13:15Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > Losing weight will make your jaw look “bigger” because everything else got smaller. [That sort of thing happens a lot.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3uxY07M8_8)😉 ---
**Author:** ![Contemplation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Contemplation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contemplation)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-eating-rice-make-your-jaws-bigger/813535/9 "2018-05-03T20:18:17Z")
It might have something to do with the chewing action causing muscles to grow. Rice may be easy to chew, but I think it still requires more chewing than a soft piece of bread. Its soft, but maybe you have to eat more of it to get the same calories as bread so thus you spend more time chewing to get the same calories. Or maybe theres other foods that Chinese people eat that makes their chewing muscles grow. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-eating-rice-make-your-jaws-bigger/813535/10 "2018-05-03T20:24:47Z")
> [@Contemplation](#): > > Its often said that the foods you eat develop your jaw. I notice Chinese people have bigger jaws and cheekbones, so would eating rice everyday make your jaws and cheeks bigger and stronger looking? > > For example, lets say someone were to eat a bowl of rice every day for a year. Would their jaw grow? > BTW: They still eat other foods besides rice so they don’t die. > BTW: Chinese people eat a lot of rice. This is not even wrong. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-eating-rice-make-your-jaws-bigger/813535/11 "2018-05-03T20:27:37Z")
> [@Contemplation](#): > > Its often said that the foods you eat develop your jaw. I notice Chinese people have bigger jaws and cheekbones, so would eating rice everyday make your jaws and cheeks bigger and stronger looking? First you need to go beyond your casual observations and demonstrate that Chinese people really do have bigger jaws and cheekbones. I’ll wait. > [@RedSwinglineOne](#): > > Am I making rice wrong? When you think of things that are difficult to chew, rice tops the list? My wife made rice like that. I tried to explain that it wasn’t supposed to be crunchy to no avail. > [@Jasmine](#): > > Maybe he got a batch of that fake “plastic rice” that’s rumored to be in circulation. Oh God! I worked with a guy who believed that, as well as that cabbage was made of plastic because when it dried out it became thin and stretchy. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-eating-rice-make-your-jaws-bigger/813535/12 "2018-05-03T20:47:29Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Oh God! I worked with a guy who believed that, as well as that cabbage was made of plastic because when it dried out it became thin and stretchy. :eek: Never heard [the plastic rice rumor](http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-40484135), but I think I still have one of those [rice bowl banks](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/rice-bowl-resource-kit) from the 1970s. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-eating-rice-make-your-jaws-bigger/813535/13 "2018-05-03T21:03:30Z")
I like to drink beer. I _think_ that swallowing with gusto and stretching the stomach with CO2 is to blame for my belly enlargement. (No cite, original research not yet published.) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-eating-rice-make-your-jaws-bigger/813535/14 "2018-05-03T21:30:47Z")
> [@Contemplation](#): > > BTW: Chinese people eat a lot of rice. I married into an Asian family who ate so much rice they had a [machine that dispensed it from 50-pound bags.](https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tayama-55-Lb-Single-Rice-Dispenser-New/351952725297?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D20160908110712%26meid%3D1ff5991ba4f84be8aac18d23d89d1c2a%26pid%3D100677%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D30%26sd%3D183013460503%26itm%3D351952725297&_trksid=p2385738.c100677.m4598) They all had jaws which fit easily into any definition of “normal.” ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-eating-rice-make-your-jaws-bigger/813535/15 "2018-05-03T21:40:30Z")
You’re supposed to swallow. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-eating-rice-make-your-jaws-bigger/813535/16 "2018-05-03T21:59:17Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Funny, I’ve never heard that. Sure, there’s even a poem; > [@Ogeden Nash](#): > > Celery raw develops the jaw > But celery stewed is more quietly chewed. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-eating-rice-make-your-jaws-bigger/813535/17 "2018-05-03T22:28:01Z")
> [@Contemplation](#): > > It might have something to do with the chewing action causing muscles to grow. Rice may be easy to chew, but I think it still requires more chewing than a soft piece of bread. > Its soft, but maybe you have to eat more of it to get the same calories as bread so thus you spend more time chewing to get the same calories. > > Or maybe theres other foods that Chinese people eat that makes their chewing muscles grow. If any food made your jaw grow (none do) it would be some sort of red meat IMO. That requires lots of chewing. But the simple answer to your question is NO. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-eating-rice-make-your-jaws-bigger/813535/18 "2018-05-03T22:32:45Z")
I have eaten rice, as a staple, almost daily, for years. And yet I remain a small woman, by any measure, and my jaw remains entirely unchanged! If this were true, Asians would have massive jaws, and yet, they don’t! ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-eating-rice-make-your-jaws-bigger/813535/19 "2018-05-03T23:08:25Z")
Before we go any further, I have dibs on _Homo erectus_/Peking Man references. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-eating-rice-make-your-jaws-bigger/813535/20 "2018-05-03T23:10:00Z")
> [@Contemplation](#): > > Its often said that the foods you eat develop your jaw. How often? I haven’t heard it once, in over 72 years. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-eating-rice-make-your-jaws-bigger/813535.md?page=2)