Research into food choice investigates how people select the food they eat. An interdisciplinary topic, food choice comprises psychological and sociological aspects (including food politics and phenomena such as vegetarianism or religious dietary laws), economic issues (for instance, how food prices or marketing campaigns influence choice) and sensory aspects (such as the study of the organoleptic qualities of food).
Factors that guide food choice include taste preference, sensory attributes, cost, availability, convenience, cognitive restraint, and cultural familiarity. [1] In addition, environmental cues and increased portion sizes play a role in the choice and amount of foods consumed. [2]
Food choice is the subject of research in nutrition, food science, food psychology, anthropology, sociology, and other branches of the natural and social sciences. It is of practical interest to the food industry and especially its marketing endeavors. Social scientists have developed different conceptual frameworks of food choice behavior. Theoretical models of behavior incorporate both individual and environmental factors affecting the formation or modification of behaviors. [3] Social cognitive theory examines the interaction of environmental, personal, and behavioral factors.
Researchers have found that consumers cite taste as the primary determinant of food choice. [4] [5] Genetic differences in the ability to perceive bitter taste are believed to play a role in the willingness to eat bitter-tasting vegetables and in the preferences for sweet taste and fat content of foods. Approximately 25 percent of the US population are supertasters and 50 percent are tasters.[ clarification needed ][ citation needed ] Epidemiological studies suggest that nontasters are more likely to eat a wider variety of foods and to have a higher body mass index (BMI), a measure of weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared.
Many environmental cues influence food choice and intake, although consumers may not be aware of their effects (see mindless eating). [6] Examples of environmental influences include portion size, serving aids, food variety, and ambient characteristics (discussed below).
Portion sizes in the United States have increased markedly in the past several decades. [7] For example, from 1977 to 1996, portion sizes increased by 60 percent for salty snacks and 52 percent for soft drinks. [7] Importantly, larger product portion sizes and larger servings in restaurants and kitchens consistently increase food intake. [8] Larger portion sizes may even cause people to eat more of foods that are ostensibly distasteful; in one study individuals ate significantly more stale, two-week-old popcorn when it was served in a large versus a medium-sized container. [9]
Over 70 percent of one's total intake is consumed using serving aids such as plates, bowls, glasses, or utensils. [10] Consequently, serving aids can act as visual cues or cognitive shortcuts that inform us of when to stop serving, eating, or drinking. [8]
In one study, teenagers poured and consumed 74 percent more juice into short, wide glasses compared to tall, narrow glasses of the same volume. [11] Similarly, veteran bartenders tend to pour 26 percent more liquor into short, wide glasses versus tall, narrow glasses. [11] This may be explained in part by Piaget's vertical-horizontal illusion, in which people tend to focus on and overestimate an object's vertical dimension at the expense of its horizontal dimension, even when the two dimensions are identical in length. [12]
In addition, larger bowls and spoons can also cause people to serve and consume a greater volume of food, [13] although this effect may not also extend to larger plates. [14] It has been suggested that people serve more food into larger dishes due to the Delboeuf illusion, a phenomenon in which two identical circles are perceived to be different in size depending upon the sizes of larger circles surrounding them. [15]
Plate color has also been shown to influence perception and liking; in one study individuals perceived a dessert to be significantly more likable, sweet, and intense when it was served on a white versus a black plate. [16]
As a given food is increasingly consumed, the hedonic pleasantness of the food's taste, smell, appearance, and texture declines, an effect commonly referred to as sensory-specific satiety. [18] Consequently, increasing the variety of foods available can increase overall food intake. [12] This effect has been observed across both genders [19] [20] and across multiple age groups, although there is some evidence that it may be most pronounced in adolescence and diminished among older adults. [21]
Even the perceived variety of food can increase consumption; individuals consumed more M&M candies when they came in ten versus seven colors, despite identical taste. [22] Furthermore, simply making a food assortment appear more disorganized versus organized can increase intake. [22]
It has been suggested [23] that this variety effect may be evolutionarily adaptive, as complete nutrition cannot be found in a single food, and increased dietary variety increases the likelihood of meeting nutritional requirements for various vitamins and minerals.
There is a low grade evidence that changing the availability and positioning of food options may result in changes in food selection and consumption behaviours. [24] Environmental interventions such as taxation, food-benefit programs, and increasing the availability of fruits can reduce the number of sweetened beverages consumption. [25] Increased food salience in one's environment (including both food visibility and proximity) has been shown to increase consumption. [26] [27] Regarding visibility, food is consumed at a faster rate or at a greater volume when it is presented in clear versus opaque containers. [27] [28] Having large stockpiles of food products at home can increase their rate of consumption initially; however, after about a week's time the consumption rate may drop back down to the level of non-stockpiled foods, perhaps due to sensory-specific satiety. [29] [30] Salient foods may increase intake by serving as a continuous consumption reminder and increasing the number of food-related cognitive choices an individual must make. [6] [8] Additionally, some studies have found that obese individuals may be more susceptible to the influence of food salience and external cues than individuals with a normal-weight BMI. [28] [31]
Distractions can increase food intake by initiating patterns of consumption, obscuring ability to accurately monitor consumption, and extending meal duration. [12] For example, greater television viewing has been associated with increased meal frequency [32] and caloric intake. [33] A study in Australian children found that those who watched two or more hours of television per day were more likely to consume savory snacks and less likely to consume fruit compared to those who watched less television. [34] Other distractors such as reading, movie watching, and listening to the radio have also been associated with increased consumption. [12]
Energy expenditure increases when ambient temperature is above or below the thermal neutral zone (the range of ambient temperature in which energy expenditure is not required for homeothermy). [35] It has been suggested that energy intake also increases during conditions of extreme or prolonged cold temperatures. [36] Relatedly, researchers have posited that reduced variability of ambient temperature indoors could be a mechanism driving obesity, as the percentage of US homes with air conditioning increased from 23 to 47 percent in recent decades. [35] In addition, several human [37] and animal [38] studies have shown that temperatures above the thermoneutral zone significantly reduce food intake. However, overall there are few studies indicating altered energy intake in response to extreme ambient temperatures and the evidence is primarily anecdotal.
There is a dearth of research investigating relationships between lighting and intake; however, extant literature suggests that harsh or glaring lighting promotes eating faster, [39] whereas soft or warm lighting increases food intake by increasing comfort level, lowering inhibition, and extending meal duration. [40]
Compared to fast-tempo music, low-tempo music in a restaurant setting has been associated with longer meal duration and greater consumption of both food and drink, including alcoholic beverages. [41] [42] Similarly, when individuals hear preferred versus non-preferred music they tend to stay at dining establishments longer and spend more money on food and drink. [42]
In 2010, for the first time, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) highlighted the role of the food environment in American food choices and recommended changes in the food environment to support individual behavior modification. [43] The influence of environmental cues and other subtle factors have increased interest in using the principles of behavioral economics to change food behaviors. [44]
There is a substantial amount of research indicating that the presence of others influences food intake (discussed below). In reviewing this literature, Herman, Roth, and Polivy [45] have outlined three distinct effects:
1. Social facilitation – When eating in groups, people tend to eat more than they do when alone.
In daily diary studies, individuals have been found to eat from 30 [46] to 40-50 percent [45] [47] more while in the presence of others versus eating alone. In fact, some research has indicated that the rate of intake is best described as a linear function of the number of people present, such that meals eaten with one, four, or seven other people were 33, 69, and 96 percent larger than meals eaten alone, respectively. [48] In addition to these observational findings, there is also experimental evidence for social facilitation effects. [49]
Meal duration may be an important factor in social facilitation effects; observational research has identified positive correlations between group size and meal duration, [50] and further investigation has confirmed meal duration as a mediator of group size-intake relationships. [51]
2. Modeling – When eating in the presence of others who consistently eat either a lot or a little, individuals tend to mirror this behavior by also eating either a lot or a little.
Early studies of modeling effects investigated food intake alone versus in the presence of others who either ate either a very small amount (1 cracker) or a larger amount (20-40 crackers). [52] [53] [54] Findings were consistent, with individuals consuming more when paired with a high-consumption companion than a low-consumption companion, whereas eating alone was associated with an intermediate amount of intake. Research manipulating eating social norms within real-life actual friendships has also demonstrated modeling effects, as individuals ate less in the company of friends who had been instructed to restrict their intake versus those who had not been given these instructions. [55] Furthermore, these modeling effects have been reported across a range of diverse demographics, affecting both normal-weight and overweight individuals, [53] as well as both dieters and non-dieters. [56] Finally, regardless of whether individuals are very hungry or very full, modeling effects remain very strong, suggesting that modeling may trump signals of hunger or satiety sent from the gut. [57] [58]
3. Impression management – When people eat in the presence of others who they perceive to be observing or evaluating them, they tend to eat less than they would otherwise eat alone.
Leary and Kowalski [59] define impression management in general as the process by which individuals attempt to control the impressions others form of them. Previous research has shown that certain types of eating companions make people more or less eager to convey a good impression, and individuals often attempt to achieve this goal by eating less. [45] For example, people who are eating in the presence of unfamiliar others during a job interview or first date tend to eat less. [60]
In a series of studies by Mori, Chaiken and Pliner, individuals were given an opportunity to snack while getting acquainted with a stranger. [61] In the first study, both males and females tended to eat less while in the presence of an opposite-sex eating companion, and for females this effect was most pronounced when the companion was most desirable. It also seems that women may consume less in order to exude a feminine identity; in a second study, women who were made to believe that a male companion viewed them as masculine ate less than women who believed they were perceived as feminine.
The weight of eating companions may also influence the volume of food consumed. Obese individuals have been found to eat significantly more in the presence of other obese individuals compared to normal-weight others, while normal-weight individuals' eating appears unaffected by the weight of eating companions. [62]
Awareness Although the presence and behavior of others can have a strong impact on eating behavior, many individuals are not aware of these effects, and instead tend to attribute their eating behavior primarily to other factors such as hunger and taste. [63] Relatedly, people tend to perceive factors like cost and health effects as significantly more influential than social norms in determining their own fruit and vegetable consumption. [64]
Individuals who are overweight or obese may suffer from stigmatization or discrimination related to their weight, also called weightism or weight bias. There is emerging evidence that experiences with weight stigma may be a type of stereotype threat which leads to behavior consistent with the stereotype; for example, overweight and obese individuals ate more food after exposure to a weight stigmatizing condition. [65] Additionally, in a study of over 2,400 overweight and obese women, 79 percent of women reported coping with weight stigma on multiple occasions by eating more food. [66]
Cognitive dietary restraint refers to the condition where one is constantly monitoring and attempting to restrict food intake in order to achieve or maintain a desired body weight. [67] Strategies used by restrained eaters include choosing reduced-calorie and reduced-fat foods, in addition to restricting overall caloric intake. Individuals are classified as restrained eaters based on responses to validated questionnaires such as the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire and the restraint subscale of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire. [68] [69] Recent research suggests that the combination of restraint and disinhibition more accurately predict food choice than dietary restraint alone. Disinhibition is another factor measured by the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire. A positive score reflects a tendency towards overeating. [70] Individuals scoring high on the disinhibition subscale eat in response to negative emotion, overeat when others are eating, and when in the presence of tasty or comfort foods.
When it comes to selecting food, women are more likely than men to choose and consume foods based on health concerns or food contents. [71] One possible explanation for this observed difference is women may be more concerned with body weight issues when choosing certain types of foods. [71] [72] There may be an inverse relationship, as adolescent girls are noted to have lower intakes of vitamins and minerals and ingest fewer fruits/vegetables and dairy foods than adolescent boys. [73]
Across the lifespan, different eating habits can be observed based on socio-economic status, workforce conditions, financial security, and taste preference amongst other factors. [71] A significant portion of middle-aged and older adults responded to choosing foods due to concerns with body-weight and heart disease, whereas adolescents select food without consideration of the impact on their health. [71] Convenience, appeal of food (taste and appearance), and hunger and food cravings were found to be the greatest determinants of an adolescent's food choice. [72] Food choice can change from an early to mature age as a result of a more sophisticated taste palate, income, and concerns about health and wellness.
Income and level of education influence food choice via the availability of the resources to purchase a higher quality food and awareness of nutritious alternatives. [71] [74] Diet may vary depending on the availability of income to purchase more healthier, nutrient-rich foods. [74] For a low-income family, pricing plays a larger role than taste and quality in whether the food will be purchased. [75] This may partly explain the lower life expectancy of lower-income groups. [75] Similarly, higher levels of education equate to higher expectations from functional foods and avoidance of food additives. [76] Compared to conventional foods, organic foods have a higher cost and people may have limited access if generating a low income. The variety of foods carried in neighborhood stores may also influence diet ("food deserts"). [77]
Eating is the ingestion of food. In biology, this is typically done to provide a heterotrophic organism with energy and nutrients and to allow for growth. Animals and other heterotrophs must eat in order to survive — carnivores eat other animals, herbivores eat plants, omnivores consume a mixture of both plant and animal matter, and detritivores eat detritus. Fungi digest organic matter outside their bodies as opposed to animals that digest their food inside their bodies.
Appetite is the desire to eat food items, usually due to hunger. Appealing foods can stimulate appetite even when hunger is absent, although appetite can be greatly reduced by satiety. Appetite exists in all higher life-forms, and serves to regulate adequate energy intake to maintain metabolic needs. It is regulated by a close interplay between the digestive tract, adipose tissue and the brain. Appetite has a relationship with every individual's behavior. Appetitive behaviour also known as approach behaviour, and consummatory behaviour, are the only processes that involve energy intake, whereas all other behaviours affect the release of energy. When stressed, appetite levels may increase and result in an increase of food intake. Decreased desire to eat is termed anorexia, while polyphagia is increased eating. Dysregulation of appetite contributes to anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, cachexia, overeating, and binge eating disorder.
A healthy diet is a diet that maintains or improves overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, macronutrients such as protein, micronutrients such as vitamins, and adequate fibre and food energy.
Specific dynamic action (SDA), also known as thermic effect of food (TEF) or dietary induced thermogenesis (DIT), is the amount of energy expenditure above the basal metabolic rate due to the cost of processing food for use and storage. Heat production by brown adipose tissue which is activated after consumption of a meal is an additional component of dietary induced thermogenesis. The thermic effect of food is one of the components of metabolism along with resting metabolic rate and the exercise component. A commonly used estimate of the thermic effect of food is about 10% of one's caloric intake, though the effect varies substantially for different food components. For example, dietary fat is very easy to process and has very little thermic effect, while protein is hard to process and has a much larger thermic effect.
Palatability is the hedonic reward provided by foods or fluids that are agreeable to the "palate", which often varies relative to the homeostatic satisfaction of nutritional and/or water needs. The palatability of a food or fluid, unlike its flavor or taste, varies with the state of an individual: it is lower after consumption and higher when deprived. It has increasingly been appreciated that this can create a hunger that is independent of homeostatic needs.
Intermittent fasting is any of various meal timing schedules that cycle between voluntary fasting and non-fasting over a given period. Methods of intermittent fasting include alternate-day fasting, periodic fasting, such as the 5:2 diet, and daily time-restricted eating.
Diet plays an important role in the genesis of obesity. Personal choices, food advertising, social customs and cultural influences, as well as food availability and pricing all play a role in determining what and how much an individual eats.
While genetic influences are important to understanding obesity, they cannot explain the current dramatic increase seen within specific countries or globally. It is accepted that calorie consumption in excess of calorie expenditure leads to obesity; however, what has caused shifts in these two factors on a global scale is much debated.
Fibre supplements are considered to be a form of a subgroup of functional dietary fibre, and in the United States are defined by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). According to the IOM, functional fibre "consists of isolated, non-digestible carbohydrates that have beneficial physiological effects in humans".
Hunger is a sensation that motivates the consumption of food. The sensation of hunger typically manifests after only a few hours without eating and is generally considered to be unpleasant. Satiety occurs between 5 and 20 minutes after eating. There are several theories about how the feeling of hunger arises. The desire to eat food, or appetite, is another sensation experienced with regard to eating.
Weight management refers to behaviors, techniques, and physiological processes that contribute to a person's ability to attain and maintain a healthy weight. Most weight management techniques encompass long-term lifestyle strategies that promote healthy eating and daily physical activity. Moreover, weight management involves developing meaningful ways to track weight over time and to identify the ideal body weights for different individuals.
Nutrition education is a combination of learning experiences designed to teach individuals or groups about the principles of a balanced diet, the importance of various nutrients, how to make healthy food choices, and how both dietary and exercise habits can affect overall well-being. It includes a combination of educational strategies, accompanied by environmental supports, designed to facilitate voluntary adoption of food choices and other nutrition-related behaviors conducive to well-being. Nutrition education is delivered through multiple venues and involves activities at the individual, community, and policy levels. Nutrition Education also critically looks at issues such as food security, food literacy, and food sustainability.
Criticism of fast food includes claims of negative health effects, animal cruelty, cases of worker exploitation, children-targeted marketing and claims of cultural degradation via shifts in people's eating patterns away from traditional foods. Fast food chains have come under fire from consumer groups, such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a longtime fast food critic over issues such as caloric content, trans fats and portion sizes. Social scientists have highlighted how the prominence of fast food narratives in popular urban legends suggests that modern consumers have an ambivalent relationship with fast food, particularly in relation to children.
Ingestive behaviors encompass all eating and drinking behaviors. These actions are influenced by physiological regulatory mechanisms; these mechanisms exist to control and establish homeostasis within the human body. Disruptions in these ingestive regulatory mechanisms can result in eating disorders such as obesity, anorexia, and bulimia.
Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) are any beverage with added sugar. They have been described as "liquid candy". Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages have been linked to weight gain and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease mortality. According to the CDC, consumption of sweetened beverages is also associated with unhealthy behaviors like smoking, not getting enough sleep and exercise, and eating fast food often and not enough fruits regularly.
Satiety value is the degree at which food gives a human the sense of food gratification, the exact contrast feeling of hunger. The concept of the Satiety Value and Satiety Index was developed by Australian researcher and doctor, Susanna Holt. Highest satiety value is expected when the food that remains in the stomach for a longer period produces greatest functional activity of the organ. Limiting the food intake after reaching the satiety value helps reduce obesity problems.
Hedonic hunger or hedonic hyperphagia is the "drive to eat to obtain pleasure in the absence of an energy deficit". Particular foods may have a high "hedonic rating" or individuals may have increased susceptibility to environmental food cues. Weight loss programs may aim to control or to compensate for hedonic hunger. Therapeutic interventions may influence hedonic eating behavior.
Expected satiety is the amount of relief from hunger that is expected from a particular food. It is closely associated with expected satiation which refers to the immediate fullness that a food is expected to generate.
Food psychology is the psychological study of how people choose the food they eat, along with food and eating behaviors. Food psychology is an applied psychology, using existing psychological methods and findings to understand food choice and eating behaviors. Factors studied by food psychology include food cravings, sensory experiences of food, perceptions of food security and food safety, price, available product information such as nutrition labeling and the purchasing environment. Food psychology also encompasses broader sociocultural factors such as cultural perspectives on food, public awareness of "what constitutes a sustainable diet", and food marketing including "food fraud" where ingredients are intentionally motivated for economic gain as opposed to nutritional value. These factors are considered to interact with each other along with an individual's history of food choices to form new food choices and eating behaviors.
Hyperpalatable food (HPF) combines high levels of fat, sugar, sodium, or carbohydrates to trigger the brain's reward system, encouraging excessive eating. The concept of hyperpalatability is foundational to ultra-processed foods, which are usually engineered to have enjoyable qualities of sweetness, saltiness, or richness. Hyperpalatable foods can stimulate the release of metabolic, stress, and appetite hormones that play a role in cravings and may interfere with the body's ability to regulate appetite and satiety.
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