The texture of a food - whether it's creamy or crunchy - may influence a person's overall consumption and his perception on whether the food is calorie-rich or diet-friendly. That's according to findings recently published in the Journal of Consumer Research.
For the study, researchers conducted five laboratory studies during which individuals were asked to sample hard, soft, rough or smooth foods and then give calorie estimations for each food. During one of the experiments, participants were asked to watch TV ads while eating bit-sized brownies. As the Huffington Post reports:
... half of the participants were asked to estimate how many calories they thought the brownies had, while the other half were not. Within these groups, half of the participants were given brownie bits that were soft, while the others were given ones that were hard.
Among the participants who were not asked to focus on the calorie content of the brownies, they consumed more soft brownie bits than hard brownie bits. However, among the participants who were asked to focus on the calorie content, they consumed more of the hard brownie bits than the soft ones.
The study is part of a growing body of scientific evidence showing that several factors can impact whether we consider foods to be healthy or fattening and how much we eat. Past research has shown that people frequently underestimate the calories they're eating and that many of us tend to overeat in sit-down restaurants rather than fast-food spots. Additionally, the sequence of foods may affect how we calculate calorie content, and the color of tableware can influence how much we eat.
Previously: Obesity and smoking together may decrease taste of fat and sweet but increase consumption, Cereal-eaters: How much are you really consuming?, Fruit-filled Manga comics may increase kids’ consumption of healthy food, and Can dish color influence how much you eat?
Photo by Sarah
