Human spatial memory gives priority to high-calorie foods

People remember the location of high-calorie food better than that of low-calorie food, according to research by Wageningen University & Research. The researchers’ findings have been published in a scientific publication in Scientific Reports of Nature Research.

During Lowlands Science, the researchers took measurements of the food location memory. They instructed 512 participants to follow a set route through a room with 8 food items or 8 food-scented cotton pads. These were placed in different locations. When the participants reached a sample, they tasted the food or smoked the cotton pad. After this, they rated how much they liked the food sample and how familiar they were with it.

Food and fragrance samples included apple, chips, cucumber and chocolate brownie. The participants were then asked to indicate the location of each food or food odor sample on a map of the room in an unannounced memory test. Participants were 27% more accurate with real food and 28% more accurate with food odors, respectively, in mapping high-calorie foods in the correct location relative to the low-calorie samples.

Spatial memory was not affected by whether the food was sweet or savory, how tasty the participants liked it, or how familiar they were with it. Participants mapped foods 2.5 times more accurately when given food samples, rather than food-scented cotton pads.

The findings indicate that human spatial memory has an implicit preference for locating high-calorie foods. This can have negative effects on the food choices people make in the modern food environment. Follow-up research shows that people with a stronger ability to resist their response to high-calorie foods may be better protected from the adverse effects of this cognitive bias. Exactly how calorie spatial memory bias affects individuals’ eating behavior is now being further explored.

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