Feeling peckish? Memory affects hunger

Do you ever feel peckish just before you go to bed, despite having eaten dinner a few hours earlier?

According to a new study, your mind could be playing tricks on you. We know the human relationship with food is a complex one; mixed signals, such as mistaking thirst for hunger, are a prime example of the way our brain influences our food intake.

But researchers have recently found another factor that affects the way we think about food. Our visual relationship with what we eat is well known; colour and presentation make a meal more attractive.

However, the relationship doesn't end there.

Researchers at the University of Bristol have found that our hunger levels can be affected by how much we remember eating; if we recall our last meal as being a large one, we are less likely to feel hungry hours later, whereas if we remember it to be a small portion, we are likely to feel hungry sooner, regardless of the actual portion size and calories consumed. 

Food for thought, indeed.  

Reference: http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0050707