In 1989, a study found that 48% of Americans said they greatly enjoyed eating.  Today, it’s just not as much fun, according to a recent report from Pew Research Center that reveals on 39% now feel that eating is fun. Those who dub themeselves “over-weight” have lost their joy the most. In the 198 survey, 56% said they loved their food, while only 42% said the same recently.

Food-related pleasure has also loved plummented for those who say the’re “about right” in terms of how they weight – from 44% in the original survey to 38% today. So what happened to make us lose our joy?

“One reason is likely to be our guilty conscience,” explains Thomas Wadden, president of NAASCO, The Obesity Society, an organization of weight-loss scientist, and director of the weight and eating disorder program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. “Two-thirds of women and one-third of men say they’re on a diet. People are feeling guilty before they eat and just not enjoying it as much if they’re indulging.