They say that eating in complete darkness can be a "titillating" experience since the sense of smell, touch and taste become more sensitive given that the sense of sight is taken away. As a matter of fact, at one experiment conducted by Buzzfeed, one participant said that she began seeing food in an entirely new way.
Now, eating in the dark is not done merely for fun or pleasure. Researchers have discovered that this unusual-some may think silly; way of eating can actually be a way of losing weight, as published on the Food Quality and Preference Journal.
Researchers have conducted experiments and found out that depriving people of their vision while eating their food can lead them to eating less, hence, weight loss. Data gathered showed that participants that ate with blindfolds had consumed nine per cent fewer calories before they felt full, compared to those who could see.
According to Professor Britta Renner, a psychologist at the University of Konstanz and head author of the study, they came up with a conclusion that majority of the participants appeared to be fuller whenever they eat without seeing their food.
She explained that withholding the vision, the brain is signaled and warier of the food one is going to eat,"It triggers a part of the brain that is worried that unseen food may be rotten without visual clues to show it is fresh," Renner explained.
"This could have historical connections, an artifact from human evolution that used sight to identify food that may be edible and food that may be harmful. From an evolutionary perspective, this is an adaptive response because such ambiguity could indicate an increased threat of ingesting pathogens," she said.
Our vision also plays a key role in helping an individual judge if our body has eaten enough food. According to Renner, when vision is blocked, many of the participants stopped eating when they are full, instead of eating just for the calories, which majority of the overeating population is not conscious about.
"Vision deprivation dissociated perceived consumption from actual consumption, with blindfolded participants overestimating consumption to a much larger extent than non-blindfolded participants," Renner said. 'Vision deprivation also affected taste experiences and purchase willingness," she added.
So if you are wondering if this method would guarantee weight loss, Renner remarks, "This may provide unobtrusive and naturalistic means to change the experience of eating behavior."
