Humans enjoy their food more when it's been cut into pieces, research has found. And according to academics from Arizona State University, this could be good news for dieters.
A food portion cut into multiple, bite-sized pieces looks larger and elicits greater satiation than the same portion presented as a single, large piece, the team reported at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB).
No matter whether the two portions of food have the same calorific value.
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A sample of 301 college students was given a bagel uncut or cut into quarters.
Twenty minutes after the bagel was consumed, subjects were told that they could eat as much or as little from a complimentary lunch. Any leftover bagel and test meal was then recorded.
Subjects who received the single, uncut bagel ate more calories from both the bagel and the test meal than those who received the multiple-piece bagel.
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This shows that food cut into multiple pieces may be more satiating than a single, uncut portion of food.
Devina Wadhera, the lead author, said in a statement: "Cutting up energy-dense meal foods into smaller pieces may be beneficial to dieters who wish to make their meal more satiating while also maintaining portion control."
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