Re: Does the way food is presented (how it looks) affect your appetite?

Interesting question... I think this can be answered in two ways: One
intuitive and one scientific.  First the intuitive.  Can food
presentation influence appetite - YES!!!!  You only need to think about
how much more you'd rather eat a golden brown roast chicken drumstick,
creamy gravy and fluffy roast potatoes,  than the same meal mashed up
like baby food and given to you in a bowl.  But is there any scientific
basis for this?  
There is no direct link between the eyes or the visual processing areas
of our brain and the areas of our brain controlling appetite.  The
special senses that are far more important in appetite are smell and
taste.  Our bodies are clever in that they will tell us when we are
hungry and when we are full.  Think about how much hungrier you get when
you smell a bbq cooking or smell bacon sizzling.  
Have you ever eaten so much chocolate that you got to the point it
didn't taste very good anymore?  That's the satiety centre of your brain
(or the "I'm full" center) telling your tastebuds to tell you to stop. 
Your eyes certainly don't tell you first!!! That's why you Mum always
says 'your eyes are bigger than your stomach'.  
So, while there is no DIRECT link between 'seeing' food and appetite, you
can influence your appetite by the way food is presented.  The Japanese
do it all the time... who else could make raw fish look so appetising!
The thing here is the food looks good, so its tastes good, but its your
mind telling you this - rather than a direct biological link between
vision or merely 'seeing food' and appetite or 'wanting food'.
Hopefully this answers your question!!

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Bray et al. 1989.  Lecture Notes on Physiology.  Blackwell Scientific.