Appetite: Scientists found out the secret to the appeal of large portions of fast food

Austrian scientists have learnt why people tend to overeat junk food. It turned out that the larger the portion of fast food, the tastier it seems to the consumer. The study was published in the scientific journal Appetite.

"It's a widely held belief that people think healthy food can't taste good, and this is puzzling because there are so many options for healthy and tasty food. We wanted to better understand why people still form such a negative opinion about healthy food. This will help us encourage people to eat healthier without feeling like they need to sacrifice flavour," explained lead author of the paper Sonia Kunz.

The team involved about 350 people in two experiments. They were shown images of different dishes, some of which were classified as healthy food and others were junk food. The participants were asked to both rate the perceived taste and benefits of the presented treats.

Both tests yielded the same result. Volunteers more often than not considered junk food in large portions to be the most tasty.

According to the authors of the study, their discovery will help manage people's eating behaviour by encouraging them to eat more healthy foods.

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