Posting food pics is not a new phenomenon, but there's new research that may show why we love to do it: it makes the food taste better.

That's right: in a study just published in the Journal of Consumer Marketing, researchers found that when diners take a moment to photograph their meal before eating, it "increases attitudes and taste evaluations of the experience when consumption actually takes place."

Perhaps most interesting, consumers who took photos of foods they perceived to be healthier before eating them rated those foods higher than consumers who didn't take a photo.

Why is this? It probably has less to do with the photo itself than the time it takes to capture it. Numerous studies have shown that the act of delaying, even for a brief moment, leads to more positive perception of that meal.