Experimental design.

(A) Each trial started with the presentation of a fixation cross followed by an image of either a high-calorie or a low-calorie food or a non-food item. Following a variable inter-stimulus interval, a neutral taste stimulus was presented. After the offset of the taste, participants had to first rate the taste intensity and pleasantness and then categorize the image preceding the taste into food vs. non-food items. They were naïve as to the task-irrelevant, i.e. high- and low-calorie image categories. (B) To illustrate the variety of high-calorie stimuli (160–717 kcal/100 g) and low-calorie stimuli (12–151 kcal/100 g), four pictures of each category are presented. High-calorie: Lamb-chops, Salmon, Pizza, Pastry. Low-calorie: Beans, Water melon, Yoghurt, Pasta w. Tomato Sauce.