Justifying by "healthifying": When expected satisfaction from consumption closure increases the desire to eat more and biases health perceptions of unhealthy leftovers.

Given ongoing concerns about worldwide obesity, a rapidly growing body of research has sought to identify factors that drive consumption of energy-dense foods and snacks with little nutritional value. The present research contributes to this literature by exploring the role of consumption closure-a state characterized by perceiving a given eating occasion as finished or complete-on people's desire to eat more. More specifically, four studies demonstrate that when a small (vs. large) quantity of unhealthy leftovers remains after a meal/snack-that is, when additional food consumption can feasibly provide consumption closure-the desire to continue eating is higher (vs. lower). Furthermore, and importantly, the present research uniquely demonstrates a "justifying by healthifying" effect wherein this desire to eat more is, in turn, justified by downplaying the unhealthiness of the food (i.e., perceiving it as less unhealthy or fattening). The findings thus provide evidence of an important antecedent to food-related behavior (consumption closure) and a unique downstream consequence (biased health perceptions).