Shocking amount of calories we consume during a flight revealed
Nobody looks forward to eating airline food. It doesn’t look good and it rarely tastes good either. But now there’s another reason to dislike in-flight meals.
A new book has revealed just how many calories we consume during a flight – and we’re shocked by just how high the number is.
Although we were under no illusions that the food was healthy, apparently the average passenger consumes 3400 calories during a flight.
Oxford University Professor Charles Spence, who wrote Gastrophysics: The New Science of Eating, said many of those calories come from alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, but approximately 1900 of those calories are in the food.
So how does a tiny tray of food pack so many calories in it?
Professor Spence said that as our sense of taste is diminished in high altitudes, a lot of sugar and salt is added to airline food to boost flavours.
“Loud engine sounds and other kinds of background noise will suppress sweet and salty,” he told news.com.au.
“Because sound suppresses sweetness perception, you have to add about 15 to 20 per cent more sugar to the foods we eat while in the air to give the same taste perception.”
Passengers also tend to overeat during flight, said Professor Spence.
“One thing might be the stress that many of us feel while in the air,” he said. “When we’re stressed we tend to eat more.”