Dear Tin,
Eating is perhaps one of my
favorite pastimes. I enjoy checking out new restaurants, going to food bazaars,
and even discovering new finds in the food market. Based on my experiences, I
have observed that the amount of food I’m capable of eating varies depending on
the situation. For example, when dining in a restaurant, a dish or two could
already make me feel full. In buffets, however, I think I am capable of eating
a loooot more food than usual. Well, maybe a part of me wants to have a “sulit”
dining experience for the price I pay, but I’m just curious if there are still
other factors that make me want to eat more.
-Food Lover
Hey, Food Lover!
Yay, finally! Thanks for this
food-related post! I can see from your writing that we share the same love for
food (cheers to that!). Like you, going
to buffets makes me want to sample everything. Who wouldn’t, right? It’s hard
to stop eating when you have a lot of options to choose from. Out of curiosity,
I’ve done quite a bit of reading on this and here are the things which I found out.
On top of the reasons on why we
have the tendency to overeat is the variety of food. Sensory-specific satiety is
the change in preference for eaten versus uneaten food (Remick, Polivy &
Pliner, 2009). This also applies to foods with similar qualities, such as taste
and texture. Experiments show that there is a significant decline in the participants’
ratings for food which they have already eaten as compared to new ones (Raynor
and Epstein, as cited in Remick et al., 2009). Interestingly, even the addition
of condiments to a previously eaten food could increase one’s consumption (Brondel
et al., 2009). It was observed that the participants who have already stopped
eating fries began eating again when they were given ketchup and mayonnaise.
Researchers emphasize that sensory-specific
satiety has an effect on appetite and not on hunger; they point out that hunger
leads a person to eat but one’s eating only stops when the appetite is satiated
(Remick et al., 2009). Personally, I’ve noticed how my breakfast meal
influences my food consumption. For example, eating oatmeal is very different
from having a choice of spam, eggs, and fruits. I feel like I eat less and
finish faster when I am only given oatmeal. Since the other breakfast choice
offers more food, I will still crave for more unless I have already eaten each
food to a certain point. Eating too much of something (no matter how much you like it) will eventually give you that nakakasawa feeling. On the other hand, if you’re wondering why your tummy never runs out of space for
dessert (even when you know you’re full!), then think of how the said mechanism
works on your appetite.
When we think of a certain food,
we immediately imagine the taste that we associate with it. But aside from
taste itself, there are also other factors influencing our sensation and
perception of food. We’re sometimes not consciously aware of how the smell of
the food influences us, except perhaps when we have colds and we could hardly
taste what we’re eating. In that case, we realize the link between these two
senses. What we see also affects our appetite. No wonder that food styling has
been given more and more attention (and the so-called food porn sites are so
popular). The variety of food in buffets, together with its appealing
presentation, is definitely tempting. When it comes to visual cues, however, the
dessert section draws me the most, and maybe that’s because the color
combinations are a feast to the eye.
For the diet-conscious, it is
wise to avoid the wide selection of food choices in a meal. But other than
that, it has also been observed that eating with a group also increases food
consumption (Remick et al., 2009). This is because as the number of people
increases, then the number of dishes available is also likely to increase
(unless you choose to order a separate plate and opt not to share!). Well, the
second one seems a bit difficult to avoid since eating is considered a social
activity. But anyway, I hope you got something from my reply. PS: Feel free to
share your weekend food finds, enjoy eating (but stay healthy)!
Senserely
yours,
Tin
References:
Brondel, L., Romer, M., Van Wymelbeke, V., Pineau, N., Jiang,
T., Hanus, C., & Rigaud, D. (2009). Variety enhances food intake in humans:
role of sensory-specific satiety. Physiology & behavior, 97(1), 44-51.
Remick, A. K., Polivy, J., & Pliner,
P. (2009). Internal and external moderators of the effect of variety on food
intake. Psychological bulletin, 135(3), 434.
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