58 MAY 2017
WEIGHT LOSS“smellizing” – that is, encouraging
peopletothinkaboutaproduct’s
smell. Doing this heightened
salivation rates when people
lookedatapictureoftheproduct.
If you think you’re being
smell-teased, ask yourself: “Am I
reallyhungry,orare other forces
at work?”
HowSoundMakes You Fat
My all-white appetiser led into
acourseofcrispseaweed
spaghetti. The servers gave me a
pair of headphones that emitted
the sound of people chewing.
Theeffectwasamazing:the
pasta seemed crunchier.
Spence says this explains
what happens when people pair
popcornandamovie.Whenthe
loud sounds of your environment
match the crunchiness
happening inside your mouth,
that’sharmony.Butthatharmony
isalsowhatcancause youto
snack mindlessly.
1 /Focus on Chewing
Try eating a crisp, fresh salad
without distractions. The simple
sound of chewing will intensify
your satisfaction.
2 /Tune Your Fork
Fast-food joints play upbeat
musicforareason.Peopletend
tosynchronisetheirchewingto
thebeat,saysSpence.Here’syet
another reason to cook at home:
playing slower-paced music can
help you chew slower and eat
less overall.HowTouchMakes You Fat
One of the night’s final courses
involvedwhiskeypouredintotwo
glasses. The first glass was thick
and wide-rimmed. The second
was smaller and lighter.
My sip from the heavier glass
tasted more alcoholic and more
pungent. According to Spence,
heavy weight conveys bitterness
and masculinity. The whiskey
from the smaller glass tasted
sweeter and more intense. Both
drinks were Chivas 12.
Inasimilarexperiment,people
wereservedyoghurtintwobowls
that looked the same but differed
inweight.Theywereaskedto
hold each bowl while deciding
which yoghurt might keep them
fuller. The heaviest bowl rated
higher. The brain associates heft
with tastiness. The inverse may
also hold true: when your fast
food arrives in lightweight paper,
you’re being led to lower your
expectations.
1 /Buy Heavy Cutlery
Using a heftier knife and fork has
beenshowntomakepeoplerate
food as higher in quality than, say,
amealservedwithplastic utensils.
2 /Cup Your Meal
Eating cereal? Hold the bowl inyour hands when you eat. Feeling
theweighthasbeenshownto
make you feel fuller faster, since
youattributetheheavy feelingto
a richer meal.
3 /Eat Slow Food
In a Singaporean study, people
ate six times more quickly when
theirfoodwasthe“fast”variety
(like a smoothie) than when it
was “slow” (something that’s
chewed). What’s more, these
fast-foodeatersingested10-30
per cent more kilojoules than the
slow-food eaters.After the meal...
As the plates were being stacked,
Spence said something that stuck
with me. “If I had to rank the
senses in order of importance for
eating, I’d choose sight and smell
as most important,” he said. “Then
sound and touch. Last is taste.”
Knowing the different ways
restaurants and food producers
manipulate your senses is your
firststeptowardsmartereating.
But it’s in leveraging gastrophysics
thatyoustarttotipthe scaleto
your advantage.Feast for the senses:
Dr Charles Spence
and chef Jozef
Youssef (right)
wreak havoc on
gullible tastebuds.PHOTOGRAPHY: ANDREW WOFFINDEN, MAURIZIO DI IORIO