The role of memory in hunger (and craving?)

[Ben]

A study by the University of Bristol, published last week in the Plos One Journal, found that how much we think we have eaten, as opposed to much how much we have actually eaten, affects our sense of being satiated. So, hunger, several hours after a meal, can be predicted by our perception of how much food we remember seeing in front of us.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/diet ... z2En3sxERw

I think this provides some interesting food for thought (pardon the pun), not just for mundane wellbeing, but also on how craving may be, at least partially, conditioned by memory.
What are your thoughts?

Ben

[David2]

Interesting. So, if one eats slowly and mindfully, this should also sharpen one's perception of how much one eats.
So the study also shows that slow mindful eating helps to crave less food.

[marc108]

, but also on how craving may be, at least partially, conditioned by memory.
What are your thoughts?

i agree with this totally. in my field (nutrition) it's accepted that when an obese person (or anyone) goes from a high calorie diet to a lower calorie diet that there is initially a surge of craving while you adjust... even when the lower caloric intake is the amount you actually need. a lot of the strategies around nutrition & food planning re: obese people revolved around satiety to offset this effect.

i could go on about this for days. very little of what the average person experience re: hunger is actually about what the body needs... its almost solely based on craving and attachment.