Long-term sensory-specific satiety: evidence from an Ethiopian refugee camp

The reduction in appetite which occurs during a meal is partly specific to the foods which have been eaten earlier in a meal. This has been called "sensory-specific satiety." In the experiment described here, a long-term form of sensory-specific satiety has been demonstrated. Refugees in an Ethiopian refugee camp reported that the taste of 3 foods which they had been eating for approximately 6 months was less pleasant than that of 3 new foods, whereas refugees who had been eating the regular diet for only two days found its taste as pleasant as that of the different foods. This long-term sensory-specific satiety may have nutritional implications when only a limited variety of food is available, as may occur in refugee camps. It will be useful to determine the extent to which this long-term sensory-specific satiety can be prevented by provision of perhaps even a limited range of spices, flavorings or foods.