Satisfaction, satiation and food behaviour

• Food reward is crucial for understanding food behaviour.
• Repeated exposure is the most efficient learning mechanism determining food preference change.
• Molecular gastronomy, neurogastronomy and gastrophysics are reviewed.
• Quality versus quantity. Sensory satisfaction might be the solution to problems of overeating.

In this short review I discuss recent advances in studies of food reward and food preference formation. Liking and wanting are well-established key concepts of food reward, but it is pointed out how these need to be extended to also include expectation and well-being after a meal to fully encompass food reward. Recent comparative studies of different food preference formation mechanisms have clearly demonstrated the importance of repeated exposure. Three new fields of study of food behaviour, molecular gastronomy, neurogastronomy and gastrophysics, are discussed and it is argued that studies of sensory food reward suggest that food satisfaction might be the solution, not the problem, in curbing overeating.