Research Suggests Food Photos Satisfy Your Appetite

Food photos abound on the internet: On news websites, social media, and banner ads that appear everywhere.
Many of the food photos are uploaded in order to sell specific delicacies. The theory is that the photographs on Facebook or Instagram will make us crave a McDonald’s burger, for example. In other words, the visual makes us hungry.
Aarhus University research now demonstrates that the visuals can really have the opposite effect. At least if we view images of the same thing frequently.

Several investigations show that viewing the same image 30 times might induce feelings of fullness. Tjark Andersen, who just defended his Ph.D. at Aarhus University’s Department of Food Science, explains further.

“In our experiments, we showed that when the participants saw the same food photos 30 times, they felt more satiated than before they had seen the picture. The participants who were shown the picture many times also chose a smaller portion than those who had only seen the picture three times, when we subsequently asked about the size of portion they wanted,” he says.

Tricking Your Brain into Thinking You’re Full

It may appear weird that the individuals felt full while not eating anything. But, as Tjark Andersen demonstrates, this is very natural. Our appetite is greatly influenced by how we think about food.

“Your appetite is more closely linked with your cognitive perception than most of us think. How we think about our food is very important,” he says. “Studies have shown that if you make people aware of different colors of Jelly Beans, even if they have eaten all they can in red Jelly Beans, will still want the yellow ones. Even if both colors taste completely the same.”

These findings are explained in brain research by the so-called grounded cognition theory. For example, imagining putting your teeth in a luscious apple stimulates the same parts of the brain as really taking a bite of an apple.

“You will receive a physiological response to something you have only thought about. That’s why we can feel fully satisfied without eating anything,” he says.

An Extensive Internet Experiment

Tjark Andersen and his colleagues are not the first to discover that gazing at photos of food might make us feel full. This has previously been demonstrated by other study groups.

The unique component of the Aarhus University study is that they investigated the number of repetitions required—and whether diversity in the visuals reduces the sense of fullness.

“We know from previous studies that images of different types of food don’t have the same effect on satiety. That’s why you can really feel full after the main course but still have room for dessert. Sweet things are a completely different type of food,” he says.

Tjark Andersen and his colleagues devised a series of online studies to see if food diversity fully eliminates the experience of satisfaction. Through their digital trials, they were able to reach over 1,000 people.

They began by showing a picture of only orange M&Ms. Some participants were shown the image three times, while others were shown it thirty times. Tjark Andersen explains that the group who saw the most photographs of M&Ms felt the most satisfied afterward.

“They had to answer how many M&Ms between 1 and 10 they wanted. The group which had seen 30 images of orange chocolate buttons, chose a smaller amount than the other two groups.”

They then repeated the experiment. This time, M&Ms in various colors were used. The colors had no effect on the outcome.

Finally, they substituted Skittles for M&Ms. Skittles, unlike M&Ms, taste differently depending on the color.

“If color didn’t play a role, it must be the imagined taste. But we found no major effect here either. This suggests that more parameters than just color and flavor have to change before we can make a effect on satiety,” he explains.

It Has the Potential to Be Employed as a Weight Loss Approach

Overweight persons have tripled in the world since 1975. Obesity is one of the most serious health issues confronting humans, according to the WHO. And the reason we grow overweight is because we eat too much food, particularly bad food, while not exercising frequently enough.

This is where the findings of Tjark Andersen come into play. Perhaps they can be applied as a method to control appetite, he says.

“Think if you developed an app based on a Google search. Let’s say you wanted pizza. You open the app. Choose pizza—and it shows a lot of photos of pizza while you imagine eating it. In this way, you could get a sense of satiety and maybe just stop wanting pizza.”

Perhaps his findings can be used to ensure that you do not begin a meal. The study participants chose somewhat less Skittles or M&Ms, equal to fewer than 50 calories.

“You won’t save many calories unless you completely refrain from starting a meal. But perhaps the method can be used for this as well. It’d be interesting to investigate,” he says.

Food is Abounding on Social Media

Tjark Andersen and colleagues are investigating how food marketing on social media effect us, as we are continuously bombarded with good food.

In 2016, an American research group attempted to determine how many food adverts we see on social media on average. The researchers observed a group of young people and recorded the stuff they encountered.

In a 12-hour period, young people saw an average of 6.1 food-related posts. The vast majority of the posts were food-related, with more than a third focusing on desserts or other sweet foods.

The internet, particularly social media, may be contributing to our increased obesity. However, it could also be the solution.

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