Why Do We Always Seem to Have Room for Dessert? Stimulating Healthy Eating

Many of us are all too familiar with the following situation: you’ve just finished your meal, but as soon as a dessert arrives, you can’t resist eating it. Why? Previous research has identified two phenomena that explain why people always seem to have room for dessert: a mechanism called ‘sensory satiation’ – getting bored with the same flavour – and the related ‘variety effect’ – bigger appetite with a bigger variety in foods. These two phenomena were scrutinised in a series of experiments, investigating how sensory satiation and the variety effect can be influenced and what role they play in how much and what food is eaten. The results of the research, presented in this lecture, suggest that the role of these phenomena in eating behaviour is substantial and that variety and sensory satiation can be used to stimulate healthy eating.

Studium Generale is back in Venlo with a series of monthly lectures. The lectures at the University College Venlo will be in English. Dutch lectures will take place in Venlo’s city library. Check out the library’s programme to get the whole picture: www.bibliotheekvenlo.nl.