Our Stomachs Can be Tricked into Satisfaction

14/07/2010

A study into weight loss has shown that the mind can be tricked into believing the stomach is full. The study focused on influencing the belief that the food about to be eaten will be more filling than it really was.

As a result, the people who volunteered for the study found themselves to be more satisfied and for longer a time when they were influenced to believe that the food portions they were about to eat were bigger than they really were. This means that food portion size is more about perception than reality.

Another factor that played a part in the levels of satiety was memories of satisfaction derived from previous meals and how long they kept hunger at bay. Between both these factors, of expectation prior to eating and past memories of eating, the levels of appetite and satisfactions were influenced.

Dr. Brunstrom, the lead author of the study, explained the causation effects on hunger: "The extent to which a food that can alleviate hunger is not determined solely by its physical size, energy content, and so on. Instead, it is influenced by prior experience with a food, which affects our beliefs and expectations about satiation. This has an immediate effect on the portion sizes that we select and an effect on the hunger that we experience after eating."

Dr. Brunstrom went on to describe the effect of labeling, saying "Labels on 'light' and 'diet' foods might lead us to think we will not be satisfied by such foods, possibly leading us to eat more afterwards," adding that "One way to militate against this, and indeed accentuate potential satiety effects, might be to emphasize the satiating properties of a food using labels such as 'satisfying' or 'hunger relieving'."

The Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council along with the Diet and Health Research Industry Club who represent a consortium of food companies funded the study. Its findings were presented to the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior at their Annual Meeting.