Food aroma affects bite size

Results for ten subjects (four females and six males), aged between 26 and 50 years, indicated that aroma intensity affected the size of the corresponding bite as well as that of subsequent bites. Higher aroma intensities resulted in significantly smaller sizes.These results suggest that bite size control during eating is a highly dynamic process affected by the sensations experienced during the current and previous bites.Eating and drinking serve to transfer food and drink from the mouth towards the throat before they enter the stomach and intestines. Before they enter these parts of the digestive system, foods are 'predigested'; that is, broken down in the mouth via mechanical and enzymatic degradation. The resulting fragments are mixed with saliva into a consistent bolus that is safe to swallow. The amount of food that is processed each time in the mouth (the bite size) is highly variable between consumers [1], between foods, and even within the same food when a single property such as viscosity is varied [2]. Solid foods that require more breaking down in the mouth typically result in smaller bite sizes than semisolid foods and liquids. Smaller bite sizes are known to elicit weaker food sensations [3], lower flavor release [4] and more satiation [5,6]. Furthermore, bite sizes tend to be smaller for unfamiliar foods and foods that are liked less [7]. Finally, bite sizes become smaller as the consumer becomes satiated [2]. These results suggest that bite size is actively regulated during eating in response to sensory and/or digestive factors.Insight into the dynamics of bite size regulation may not only be relevant from a theoretical point of view, but may also assist in the development of foods that are more satiating and are therefore consumed in smaller quantities. Given this objective, the use of aromas to affect bite size is particularly interesting since these can be manipulated without raising the caloric content of the food. We hypothesize that aroma expos