scholarly journals Anticipated Food Scarcity and Food Preferences: Ph.D. thesis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Folwarczny
Keyword(s):  
Food Preferences ◽  
Recent Decade ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
Video Content ◽  
Low Calorie ◽  
Choice Context ◽  
Food Scarcity ◽  
Food Sufficiency ◽  
Hostile Environments

In the recent decade, marketing literature has acknowledged the advantages of applying an evolutionary lens to understand consumer behavior in different domains. Food choice context is one such domain, having implications for societal well-being, especially for public health and addressing environmental issues. In this thesis, I investigate how mechanisms that have emerged as adaptations to food scarcity—frequent throughout human history—affect modern consumers’ food preferences, potentially leading to maladaptive outcomes. In Paper I, we highlight that selection pressures adjusted humans to forage in ancestral, hostile environments when they were wandering between periods of food scarcity and food sufficiency. Consequently, consumers often fail to choose foods appropriate to their current needs in contemporary retail contexts. Rather than attempting to override these hardwired and evolutionarily outdated food preferences, we recommend policymakers leverage them in such a way that facilitates healthier food choices. A series of studies reported in Paper II show that exposing people to climate changeinduced food scarcity distant in time and space shifts their current food preferences. Specifically, people exposed to such video content exhibit a stronger preference toward energy-dense (vs. low-calorie) foods than their peers exposed to a control video. In Paper III, we aimed to account for potential confounds stemming from the control video used in studies reported in Paper II. Additionally, we strived to conceptually replicate these earlier findings by exposing participants to subtle cues to food scarcity—a winter forest walk. Although not all studies yielded significant results at conventional levels, this empirical package—when taken together—corroborated the earlier findings. Despite that studies described in Papers II–III provided a shred of empirical evidence showing a potency of food scarcity cues in increasing preferences toward energy-dense (vs. low-calorie) products, it was still unclear what drove such a shift in food liking. Thus, in Paper IV, we have developed and psychometrically validated the Anticipated Food Scarcity Scale (AFSS), measuring the degree to which people perceive food resources as becoming less available in the future. Aside from being a candidate mechanism partially explaining findings reported in Papers II–III, anticipated food scarcity (AFS) is also related to some aspects of prosociality. Studies presented in this thesis suggest that when environmental cues to food scarcity are present, people show a stronger preference toward energy-dense (vs. low-calorie) foods than their peers unexposed to such cues. Policymakers should consider these results when designing climate change and other similar campaigns, as such communication often depicts food scarcity. Additional research may explore the possibility that exposure to food scarcity cues affects food choices. Considering that we found AFS correlated with certain prosocial attitudes, it is a new psychological construct that warrants future investigation through multidisciplinary research.

scholarly journals Anticipated Food Scarcity and Food Preferences

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Folwarczny
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Preferences ◽  
Recent Decade ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
Video Content ◽  
Low Calorie ◽  
Choice Context ◽  
Food Scarcity ◽  
Hostile Environments

In the recent decade, marketing literature has acknowledged the advantages of applying an evolutionary lens to understand consumer behavior in different domains. Food choice context is one such domain, having implications for societal well-being, especially for public health and addressing environmental issues. In this thesis, I investigate how mechanisms that have emerged as adaptations to food scarcity—frequent throughout human history—affect modern consumers’ food preferences, potentially leading to maladaptive outcomes. In Paper I, we highlight that selection pressures adjusted humans to forage in ancestral, hostile environments when they were wandering between periods of food scarcity and food sufficiency. Consequently, consumers often fail to choose foods appropriate to their current needs in contemporary retail contexts. Rather than attempting to override these hardwired and evolutionarily outdated food preferences, we recommend policymakers leverage them in such a way that facilitates healthier food choices. A series of studies reported in Paper II show that exposing people to climate change-induced food scarcity distant in time and space shifts their current food preferences. Specifically, people exposed to such video content exhibit a stronger preference toward energy-dense (vs. low-calorie) foods than their peers exposed to a control video. In Paper III, we aimed to account for potential confounds stemming from the control video used in studies reported in Paper II. Additionally, we strived to conceptually replicate these earlier findings by exposing participants to subtle cues to food scarcity—a winter forest walk. Although not all studies yielded significant results at conventional levels, this empirical package—when taken together—corroborated the earlier findings. Despite that studies described in Papers II–III provided a shred of empirical evidence showing a potency of food scarcity cues in increasing preferences toward energy-dense (vs. low-calorie) products, it was still unclear what drove such a shift in food liking. Thus, in Paper IV, we have developed and psychometrically validated the Anticipated Food Scarcity Scale (AFSS), measuring the degree to which people perceive food resources as becoming less available in the future. Aside from being a candidate mechanism partially explaining findings reported in Papers II–III, anticipated food scarcity (AFS) is also related to some aspects of prosociality. Studies presented in this thesis suggest that when environmental cues to food scarcity are present, people show a stronger preference toward energy-dense (vs. low-calorie) foods than their peers unexposed to such cues. Policymakers should consider these results when designing climate change and other similar campaigns, as such communication often depicts food scarcity. Additional research may explore the possibility that exposure to food scarcity cues affects food choices. Considering that we found AFS correlated with certain prosocial attitudes, it is a new psychological construct that warrants future investigation through multidisciplinary research.

scholarly journals Developmental Changes in Food Perception and Preference

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A7-A8
Author(s):  
Monica Serrano-Gonzalez ◽  
Seung-Lark Lim ◽  
Nicolette Sullivan ◽  
Robert Kim ◽  
Megan M Herting ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Preferences ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Developmental Changes ◽  
Differential Rate ◽  
Low Calorie ◽  
Food Perception ◽  
Age Related ◽  
High Calorie

Abstract Food choices are a key determinant of dietary intake, with involved brain regions such as the mesolimbic and prefrontal cortex maturing at a differential rate from childhood to young adulthood. However, developmental changes in healthy and unhealthy food perception and preference remain poorly understood. We aimed to understand this gap by investigating whether perceptions and preferences for food vary as a function of age, and how specific food attributes (i.e., taste and health) impact these age-related changes. We hypothesized that there would be an inverted U-shaped relationship between age and preference for high-calorie foods. As well, we expected that both dietary self-control and the decision weight of the health attribute would increase with age. One hundred thirty-nine participants aged 8–23 years (79 males, 60 females) participated in this study. They completed computerized rating tasks to assess taste, health, and liking (or preference) of high-calorie and low-calorie foods, followed by 100 binary food choices based on each participant’s individual ratings for taste and health. Among the 100 pairs, 75 were deemed challenge trials, where one food had a higher taste rating but a lower health rating than the other food item. Dietary self-control was considered successful when the healthier food cue in the challenge trial was chosen, and self-control success ratio (SCSR) was computed as the proportion of self-control success trials over the total number of choices. Results showed that high-calorie foods were rated as more tasty (r = 0.32, p < 0.001) and less healthy (r = -0.22, p < 0.01) with increasing age. As well, older participants wanted to eat high-calorie foods more than the younger participants (r = 0.29, p = 0.001). Furthermore, older age was associated with an increased decision weight of taste attribute on food preferences (r = 0.26, p = 0.002), suggesting that the taste attribute may contribute to the age-related increases in preference for high-calorie foods. Although participants rated low-calorie foods as less tasty (r = -0.17, p = 0.04) and less healthy (r= -0.31, p < 0.001) with increasing age, there was no significant association between age and preference for low-calorie foods. Participants made faster food choices with increasing age (r= -0.31, p < 0.001), which was driven by failed self-control choices (r = -0.23, p = 0.006). There was no significant association between age and SCSR (p = 0.5). Our results are consistent with other studies that demonstrate age-related increases in consumption of calorie-dense foods in youth, and suggest that age may be more relevant to preference for high-calorie than low-calorie foods. Future studies are merited to investigate the neurobiology underlying these developmental changes in food perceptions and preferences.

scholarly journals Food Preferences and Food Choice Determinants in a Polish Adolescents’ COVID-19 Experience (PLACE-19) Study

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 2491
Author(s):  
Dominika Głąbska ◽  
Dominika Skolmowska ◽  
Dominika Guzek
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Food Choice ◽  
Food Preference ◽  
Food Preferences ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
Population Based ◽  
School Students ◽  
High Preference ◽  
Quota Sampling ◽  
Food Choice Motives

Food preferences are within the most important determinants of food choices; however, little is known about their complex associations, and no studies were conducted in the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the study was to analyze the association between food preferences and food choice determinants in adolescents aged 15–20 years within the Polish Adolescents’ COVID-19 Experience (PLACE-19) Study. The PLACE-19 Study included a random quota sampling conducted in the whole of Poland and covered a population-based sample of 2448 secondary school students. The food preferences were assessed using a validated Food Preference Questionnaire (FPQ), and the food choices were assessed using a validated Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ). The statistical analysis comprised k-means clustering and linear regression adjusted for sex and age. Four homogenous clusters of respondents were defined based on the food choice motives—“healthy eaters” (health as the most important determinant of food choices), “hedonists” (convenience, sensory appeal, and price as the most important determinants), “indifferent consumers” (low significance for all determinants), and “demanding consumers” (high significance for all determinants). The preferences for all food categories differed when comparing between clusters presenting various food choice determinants (p < 0.001). The “healthy eaters” were characterized by the highest preference for vegetables; the “hedonists” preferred meat/fish, dairy, and snacks; the “demanding consumers” had a high preference for all food categories, while “indifferent consumers” had a low preference for all food categories. All preference scores were positively associated with mood, convenience, sensory appeal, natural content, and price (p < 0.05). The results confirmed the association between food preferences and food choice determinants in adolescents, as well as allowed adolescents to be clustered into segments to define various needs and motives among the identified segments. For public health purposes, it may be crucial to educate “hedonists,” with a high preference for meat/fish, dairy and snacks, accompanied by convenience, sensory appeal, and price as the most important determinants of their food choices.

scholarly journals Women’s perceptions of factors influencing their food shopping choices and how supermarkets can support them to make healthier choices

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Preeti Dhuria ◽  
Wendy Lawrence ◽  
Sarah Crozier ◽  
Cyrus Cooper ◽  
Janis Baird ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Personal Responsibility ◽  
Food Preferences ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Telephone Interviews ◽  
Food Shopping ◽  
Women’S Perceptions

Abstract Objectives To examine women’s perceptions of factors that influence their food shopping choices, particularly in relation to store layout, and their views on ways that supermarkets could support healthier choices. Design This qualitative cross-sectional study used semi-structured telephone interviews to ask participants the reasons for their choice of supermarket and factors in-store that prompted their food selections. The actions supermarkets, governments and customers could take to encourage healthier food choices were explored with women. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify key themes. Setting Six supermarkets across England. Participants Twenty women customers aged 18–45 years. Results Participants had a median age of 39.5 years (IQR: 35.1, 42.3), a median weekly grocery spend of £70 (IQR: 50, 88), and 44% had left school aged 16 years. Women reported that achieving value for money, feeling hungry, tired, or stressed, and meeting family members’ food preferences influenced their food shopping choices. The physical environment was important, including product quality and variety, plus ease of accessing the store or products in-store. Many participants described how they made unintended food selections as a result of prominent placement of unhealthy products in supermarkets, even if they adopted more conscious approaches to food shopping (i.e. written or mental lists). Participants described healthy eating as a personal responsibility, but some stated that governments and supermarkets could be more supportive. Conclusions This study highlighted that in-store environments can undermine intentions to purchase and consume healthy foods. Creating healthier supermarket environments could reduce the burden of personal responsibility for healthy eating, by making healthier choices easier. Future research could explore the interplay of personal, societal and commercial responsibility for food choices and health status.

“Most of them are junk food but we did put fruit on there and we have water”

2015 ◽  
Vol 115 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Waddingham ◽  
Stella Stevens ◽  
Kate Macintyre ◽  
Kelly Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
Eating Habits ◽  
Food Preferences ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
Dietary Guidelines ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Healthy Children ◽  
National Guidelines ◽  
Content Type ◽  
School Canteen

Purpose – The Australian Dietary Guidelines support good health and disease prevention. Children with healthy eating habits established early in life have been shown to continue these habits into adulthood compared with those children who have poor eating habits in their younger years. The nutritional intake of many Australian children is not in accordance with the national guidelines. The reasons children make the food choices they do are unclear from the literature. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This study used participatory action research methods to explore why primary school-aged children make the food choices that they do. A non-government primary school requested assistance in encouraging their children to make healthier choices from the school canteen menu. The authors gathered opinions from the children in two different ways; a group discussion during class and a “discovery day” that involved four class grades. The authors identified children’s food preferences and food availability in canteens. The authors explored how the children perceived healthy foods, the importance of a healthy food environment and what criteria children use to decide what foods to buy. Findings – Children’s food preferences were mostly for unhealthy foods, and these were readily available in the canteen. The perception about what foods were healthy was limited. Despite being asked to develop a “healthy” menu, the majority of choices made by the children were not healthy. Children described unhealthy choices as preferable because of taste of the food, if it was sugary, if it was quick to eat, available and cheap, the relationship of food and weather, the connection to health conditions and peer dominance. Practical implications – This study suggests that children make their food choices based on simple concepts. The challenge lies around producing healthy options in collaboration with the school community that match the children’s food choice criteria. Originality/value – This paper provides a modern and inspiring whole school approach based on equity and empowerment of the children. Discovering why children make food choices from the children’s perspective will help to present healthy options that will be more appealing for children. The methodology used to uncover why children make their food choices has also provided valuable insight into a study design that could be used to address other childhood research questions. The methodology offers an educative experience while gathering rich information directly from the children. This information can be used by the school to support children to have more control over their health and to develop behaviours to increase their health for the rest of their lives.

scholarly journals An experimental study on the effects of exposure to magazine advertising on children's food choices

2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 1337-1344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra C Jones ◽  
Lisa Kervin
Keyword(s):  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Food Preferences ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Snack Food ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Children's Magazines ◽  
Food Advertisements ◽  
Effects On Children

AbstractObjectiveThe present study sought to determine the feasibility of an experimental research design to investigate the effects of exposure to magazine advertising on children's food choices.DesignChildren were randomized to read either a magazine with food advertisements or a magazine with no food advertisements. They then chose two food items from the intervention ‘store’ to eat after the session. Data were also collected on attitudes to advertising and snack food preferences. Finally, participants’ parents were provided with a self-completion survey on food choices and other variables (n24).SettingThree vacation care centres in regional New South Wales, Australia.SubjectsChildren aged 5–12 years (n47).ResultsChildren in the experimental condition were more likely to choose advertised foods than those in the control group. Interestingly, the majority reported taste and healthiness as the most important factors in snack food choices; however, when faced with the actual food choice, they predominantly chose unhealthy foods (eighty-two unhealthy and only twelve healthy items were chosen).ConclusionsThis was the first study to assess the effects on children of exposure to food advertising within the context of reading a child-targeted magazine. Importantly, even with the small sample size and venue limitations, we found that exposure to magazine advertising influenced food choices. Children's magazines are an under-researched and poorly regulated medium, with considerable potential to influence children's food choices. The present study shows that the methodology is feasible, and future studies could replicate this with larger samples.

scholarly journals The child brain computes and utilizes internalized maternal choices

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seung-Lark Lim ◽  
J. Bradley C. Cherry ◽  
Ann M. Davis ◽  
S. N. Balakrishnan ◽  
Oh-Ryeong Ha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Food Preferences ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Left Dlpfc ◽  
Making Choices ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal

Abstract As children grow, they gradually learn how to make decisions independently. However, decisions like choosing healthy but less-tasty foods can be challenging for children whose self-regulation and executive cognitive functions are still maturing. We propose a computational decision-making process in which children estimate their mother’s choices for them as well as their individual food preferences. By employing functional magnetic resonance imaging during real food choices, we find that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) encodes children’s own preferences and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) encodes the projected mom’s choices for them at the time of children’s choice. Also, the left dlPFC region shows an inhibitory functional connectivity with the vmPFC at the time of children’s own choice. Our study suggests that in part, children utilize their perceived caregiver’s choices when making choices for themselves, which may serve as an external regulator of decision-making, leading to optimal healthy decisions.

Plant selection and avoidance by the Bornean elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis) in tropical forest: does plant recovery rate after herbivory influence food choices?

2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 371-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan English ◽  
Graeme Gillespie ◽  
Marc Ancrenaz ◽  
Sulaiman Ismail ◽  
Benoit Goossens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Preferences ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
Elephas Maximus ◽  
Growth Forms ◽  
Forest Environment ◽  
Plant Vigour ◽  
Basal Diameter ◽  
Phragmites Karka ◽  
Preferred Species ◽  
Lower Kinabatangan

Abstract:The plant vigour hypothesis proposes that herbivores should favour feeding on more vigorously growing plants or plant modules. Similarly, we would expect herbivores to favour plants that regrow vigorously after herbivory. Larger animals, like elephants, may also select plant species relative to their availability and prefer species with larger growth forms in order to meet their intake requirements. The food preferences of the Bornean elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis) in the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, Sabah, Malaysia, were investigated along 12 transects in areas where elephants were recently sighted feeding. One hundred and eighty-two plants were eaten and 185 plants were measured for species availability along transects. Species vigour was determined by the monthly regrowth in new shoot length after elephant feeding and the number of new shoots produced on each plant. Measurements were carried out on each plant for 9 mo or until the new shoot was eaten. Plant sizes were determined from their basal diameter. The Bornean elephant did not prefer more vigorous species or species with larger growth forms. New shoots did not grow longer on preferred than avoided species. Additionally, unlike other elephants that live in a forest environment, the Bornean elephant preferred species from the Poaceae (specifically Phragmites karka and Dinochloa scabrida) over other plant types including gingers, palms, lianas and woody trees.

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