Joys of Satiation

When I could not finish my dinner but still wanted dessert, I told my mother I had a separate dessert stomach. She thought it was cute. Turns out, my clever ploy to appease my sweet tooth is rooted in science!

In “High Satiety,” Steingarten points to an experiment in which animals fed bland “laboratory chow” did not gain weight although permitted to eat as much as they wished. These same animals, when offered a range of snacks, ate a higher number of meals and more food at these meals. This phenomena is sensory-specific satiety, which Steingarten describes as “When a human or a rat has filled up on one type of food, and you present him, her or it with another food that differs in taste, aroma, texture, or even temperature, eating begins all over again” (151).

I am immediately reminded of Frank. I remember a campaign at Frank to change the language from “all-you-can-eat” to “all-you-care-to-eat.” Frank has a wide array of selection. The Vegetarian/Vegan station, Pizza/sautee station, Grill station, Entrée station, Deli bar, Salad bar, and soup station….with all these choices and stimulations, I care to eat a lot!

The campaign, however, was an attempt to promote sustainable practices by decreasing waste. Groups like “scrape the plate” have come to meals and used the visual stimulation of piles and piles of wasted food to drive home their message…. But they’re working against the science that fuels cafeteria eating! Other groups have tried to eliminate the use of the trays, which allows our hands to carry as much as our eyes want but stomachs cannot eat.

Even without the trays, however, I can remember countless times burning hours in Frank among friends, asking each other, “What should I get next?” We were willing to stand up from the table and take a walk around the stations, evaluating each food item and making a new choice. The trays may facilitate our need for satiation, but the removal will not stop it.

Frank could alter the menu in order to decrease waste. The guiding mantra could be “the tendency to feel full and stop eating stems from limited flavors.” I wonder the student outcry when the only option for dinner is boiled potatoes…. Turning to bland food in order to restrict overeating and waste undermines the very joy of eating!

Sensory-specific satiety is likely contributing to obesity. (Freshman 15?) Apart from cafeteria style eating, is this due to the unlimited (and growing) number of “edible food like substances?” Though the packaging may vastly differ, the root of our overstocked grocery aisles is all corn and soy… so what’s stimulating us to overeat?!