Variety in a meal enhances food intake in man.

Variety in a meal enhances food intake in man. PHYSIOL BEHAV.26(2) 215-221, 1981.-We find that in man satiety can be partly specific to foods eaten [12]. The possibility that this specificity of satiety leads to overeating if a wide variety of foods is readily available is tested here. The intakes of subjects offered a variety of foods in succession during a meal were compared to intakes when the same food was offered throughout. Subjects (n=36) ate a third more when offered sandwiches with four different fillings than when just one filling was offered (p<0.001). In another study subjects (n=24) ate significantly more when three flavors of yogurt (hazelnut, blackcurrant, orange) which were distinctive in taste, texture and color were offered than when offered just one of the flavors (p<0.01), even if the flavor was the favorite (p<0.01). However, when subjects (n=24) were offered three flavors of yogurt (strawberry, raspberry, cherry) which differed only in taste there was no enhancement of intake when the variety was offered. Having a variety of foods presented in succession during a meal enhances intake, and the more different the foods are the greater the enhancement is likely to be. Food intake Human feeding Obesity Sensory specific satiety Varied diet WE have shown that as a particular food is eaten, its taste becomes less pleasant, but the taste of other foods remains relatively unchanged [12]. As an example of this phenomenon , called sensory specific satiety, we have demonstrated that if subjects rate the pleasantness or liking for eight different foods and then eat just one of them to satiety, immediately after the meal the liking for the food eaten decreases significantly, but the liking for the foods not eaten remains relatively unchanged [12]. The changes in liking over the first course predict the amount that will be eaten subsequently. Thus when the liking for a particular food is decreased because it has been eaten in a first course, relatively little of that food is eaten in a second course, but the intake of other foods which have not been eaten remains relatively high [12]. If satiety is specific to a food which has been eaten, it follows that overeating may occur if a wide variety of foods is readily available. Although it might intuitively be supposed that more food will be eaten when the selection is varied, little experimental work has been done in this …