Taking food instagrams may make the food less satisfying

The Atlantic recently reported on  research done by the Journal of Consumer Psychology on the effects of taking photos of your food before eating it: “Study: We’ll Enjoy Food More If You Don’t Instagram It.”*

As has been proven by many diet studies regarding satiaty, the flavor of food decreases the more you eat it – the first bite always having the strongest impact. The psychologists hypothesized that taking a photo of the food replaces taking that first bite – except of course you don’t actually eat it. Therefore, the impact of your actual first bite is less intense.

The tests the researchers ran  showed that taking photos of your food can, in fact, create a degree of satiation – but only if you’re thinking of the taste of the food as you snap its image. If you concentrate on the artistry of the photo – composition, lighting, etc. – you don’t experience that impact. 

The conclusion? Continue to take photos of your food if you like – just consider yourself to be a photographer and not an eater when doing so.

*The report on the study can be accessed here:  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S105774081300079X