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Sensory-specific satiety, the variety effect and physical context: Does change of context during a meal enhance food intake?
This 2021 study explores the effect of food variety on eating via sensory-specific satiety, which is the relative reduction in pleasantness of a food as it is eaten. There was a total of 118 participants, divided into one of four conditions. In each condition, subjects were allowed to eat a specific food item until full. In the next stage, they were given either the same or a different food in either the same context or in a different context. The study authors hypothesized that introducing a new food item or changing the context for the second course would increase food consumption of the second course, compared with eating the same food in the same context. Moreover, Hendriks et al. predicted that making modifications to both food and context would enhance food intake to a greater degree than only changing one of the variables (food or context). The results demonstrated that presenting a different food item significantly increased eating in the second course. However, the adjustment in context did not positively influence consumption. This study suggests that sensory-specific satiety may not be context-specific. [NPID: food context, perception, sensory-specific satiety, food variety, variation, change]
Year: 2021
