Why does eating soup make me feel so full?

Asked by: Richard Butcher, Lancaster

If you drink water with your meal, it passes straight through the pyloric sphincter at the bottom of your stomach and into the intestines. That same amount of water, blended with your food to turn it into soup, will be retained in the stomach while the solid nutrients are digested. The stretching of the stomach wall suppresses the production of the hunger hormone ghrelin, so you feel full for longer.

Subscribe to BBC Focus magazine for fascinating new Q&As every month and follow @sciencefocusQA on Twitter for your daily dose of fun science facts.