Why do we always have room for dessert | The Times of India (2024)

You have gone out with your family for dinner to your favourite restaurant. You have eaten to your stomach's content, and no amount of force feeding by your parents can make you eat more. Suddenly, the waiter appears with the dessert menu, and without thinking twice, you grab the menu and get ready to order your favourite dessert. Your parents are staring at you in awe, and wondering how someone who is so well satiated has room for more food. Well, here is some interesting news - there is a scientific reason as to why you can feast on a dessert even after a heavy meal.

The science behind this phenomenon is quite straightforward actually, and it deals with your senses getting ‘bored’. Dessert stomach, or sensory-specific satiety as it is known more scientifically, is the phenomenon where the more food you eat of the same kind, the less appealing that food becomes. So even though you might eat a variety of food in one sitting, they all satiate the palate in a similar way.

A dessert introduces a new experience, in terms of flavour, smell, and sight, and breaks the monotony of the meal. They increase the body’s anticipation of food, rekindling our appetite by overriding satiety signals. Essentially, by eating a dessert after feeling satiated, you’re tricking your brain into thinking that you are not actually full. If instead of a dessert you were presented with the same or similar food, there would be no desire to eat more, and you would continue to feel satiated.

Apart from sensory-specific satiety, there is another factor that could explain why you always have enough room for dessert. Sugar stimulates a relaxing effect in the stomach, which reduces the sensation of being full, explaining why you can consume dessert even after eating to your stomach's content.