Epicurean find: More value from less food?

THE first bite of something delicious, say, a chocolate mousse, is always the most pleasurable. The next mouthfuls are slightly less enjoyable and, if the portion is large, the last bites are often bland or make us feel queasy.

What most people fail to realise, however, is that the total enjoyment from eating is not the sum of the pleasure experienced with each bite, but its average. The last bites tend to bring the average enjoyment down, which is why we often regret them.

Drawing on this insight, Yann Cornil* and I have demonstrated in a series of studies that training people in a lab or children in schools to focus on the sensory experience of eating can increase the appeal of smaller portions. This can lead them to choose and consume less than usual.