Why we can’t help eating airplane food
There's good reason why we can't help but wolf down the calorific plane food we'd normally turn our noses up at, new research shows.
In his new book Gastrophysics: The New Science of Eating, UK professor Charles Spence says that while meals served at altitude typically taste terrible, they're often more desirable than meals at ground level.
The lower air pressure in the cabin, dry air and loud engine noise all dull our ability to taste and smell food and drink, he told The Telegraph.
"Therefore the food we consume needs 20-30 per cent more sugar and salt to make it taste like it would on the ground."
The boredom we experience on planes and the in-flight entertainment we engross ourselves in to relieve it make matters worse, he said.
"With nothing else to do, food becomes an appealing distraction. And when it is being offered for free it will be even harder to resist."
If we're enjoying a film or TV show, we're even more likely to shovel down copious quantities of unhealthy food, Spence said.
The average Briton consumes nearly twice the recommended daily intake of calories between their check-in at the airport and their arrival at their destination, he noted.
A greasy meal and pint or two at the airport would certainly contribute but Spence, a lecturer at Oxford University, said plane food is the main culprit behind the sky-high calorie intake.
Some airlines have introduced healthier methods of making their meals more palatable, such as serving dishes that trigger our unami taste buds, like curries.
However, most resort to loading the food with lashings of salt and sugar, he said.
Air NZ chefs well aware more salt and sugar are needed
An Air New Zealand spokesperson said the culinary team plans the airline's menus with the knowledge that our tastebuds change at 30,000ft in mind.
"For instance, we know that our sweet and salty senses are significantly weakened at altitude so our onboard cuisine is seasoned accordingly."
The airline was unable to supply nutritional information on its inflight meals, such as the overall calorie count or amount of salt or sugar.
The spokesperson explained that meals are prepared by qualified chefs in more than 20 kitchens around the world using local, seasonal produce and specialty ingredients.
Nutritionist and author Claire Turnbull said airlines often feel compelled to offer the kind of bland, unhealthy food they believe will appeal to the masses.
She agreed that airlines typically add excess salt and sugar to food "to activate our tastebuds" and have a fondness for serving foods such as ice cream, which is easy to store.
"Until everyone says we want it to change, it won't change," she said. "And it may not because everyone loves ice cream!"
Indeed, Turnbull believes that our attitude toward food may be more of a problem than the food itself.
"There's the whole "buffet syndrome" that leads people to overindulge when there's a lot of food on offer - especially when it's free. But there is a cost. You will feel rubbish afterward and if you do it all the time you will be bigger."
That many of us are brought up to believe that we shouldn't waste food is also part of the problem, she said.
"If you grow up in an environment where there's not a lot of money, you can feel guilty for not eating everything you're given. We all make about 200 subconscious decisions about food each day influenced by things like how we feel about wasting food. There's a lot going on in there so if someone pops up and says "would you like a Magnum?" we're likely to say yes."
Turnbull admits that on her frequent long-haul flights to the UK she has to find ways to distract herself from eating everything that is put down in front of her.
"Meal times become the structure of your flight because there's nothing else to do. And if you don't know when your next meal is going to be or whether you're going to like it, it's tempting to eat as much as you can while you can. But you often do like it."
Her tactics for avoiding overeating on flights include having a large, nutritious meal before leaving the house, bringing along some unsalted nuts to snack on and drinking plenty of water.
People can lose up to 1.5 litres of water on planes, which can cause headaches, she said.
"The reality is that it's a challenging situation. The best things you can do are to eat well beforehand, prepare healthy snacks and drink loads of water. Because you're losing so much water onboard, you probably won't need to get up to use the loo as often as you might think!"
Written by Lorna Thornber. First appeared on Stuff.co.nz.