Abstain from Cognition During Meals

Via the Harvard Business Review blog:

People who were making and tasting lemonade while memorizing a seven-digit number ended up with a 50% higher sugar concentration in the drink than people who were memorizing just one number… This and other experiments suggest that dealing with a cognitive load dulls the experience of taste (not just sweet but also salty and sour), leading people to drink or eat more in order to obtain a pleasurable experience. Abstaining from cognitive activities during meals may enhance taste perception and limit overconsumption, the researchers say.

But, but, how? Isn’t it a cognitive activity just to be alive and eat food? Must we prepare our dinners in a sensory deprivation tank to avoid frantic over-seasoning? Does it count if you’re eating while idly skimming the Tables for Two inset in the New Yorker, which I always feel like is the equivalent of watching porn while engaged in bedroom activities, except much easier logistically?