Going hungry
Low Childhood Socioeconomic Status Promotes Eating in the Absence of Energy Need
Sarah Hill et al.
Psychological Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Life history theory predicts that developmental exposure to conditions typical of low socioeconomic status (SES) should calibrate development in ways that promote survivability in harsh and unpredictable ecologies. Guided by these insights, the current research tested the hypothesis that low childhood SES would predict eating in the absence of energy need. Across three studies, we measured (Study 1) or manipulated (Studies 2 and 3) participants’ energy need and gave them the opportunity to eat provided snacks. Participants also reported their childhood and adult SES. Results revealed that people with higher childhood SES regulated food intake based on immediate energy need; they ate more when need was high than when need was low. This relationship was not observed among those with lower childhood SES. These individuals consumed comparably high amounts of food whether current energy need was high or low. Childhood SES may have a lasting impact on food regulation.
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Yann Cornil & Pierre Chandon
Journal of Marketing Research, forthcoming
Abstract:
Research on overeating assumes that pleasure must be sacrificed for the sake of good health. Contrary to this view, the authors show that focusing on sensory pleasure can make people happier and willing to spend more for less food, a triple win for public health, consumers and businesses alike. In five experiments, American and French adults and children were asked to imagine vividly the taste, smell and oro-haptic sensations of three hedonic foods prior to choosing a portion size of another hedonic food. Compared to a control condition, this “multisensory imagery” intervention led hungry and non-dieting people to choose smaller food portions, yet they anticipated greater eating enjoyment and were willing to pay more for them. This occurred because it prompted participants to evaluate portions based on expected sensory pleasure, which peaks with smaller portions, rather than on hunger. In contrast, health-based interventions led people to choose a smaller portion than the one they expected to enjoy most — a hedonic cost for them and an economic cost for food marketers.
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Jonathan Cantor et al.
Health Affairs, November 2015, Pages 1893-1900
Abstract:
To follow up on a previous study that examined how the mandated displaying of calorie information on menu boards in fast-food restaurants in New York City influenced consumers’ behavior, we analyzed itemized cash register receipts and survey responses from 7,699 consumers at four fast-food chains. Using a difference-in-differences study design, we found that consumers exposed to menu labeling immediately after the mandate took effect in 2008 and at three points in 2013–14 reported seeing and using the information more often than their counterparts at fast-food restaurants without menu labeling. In each successive period of data collection, the percentage of respondents noticing and using the information declined, while remaining above the prelabeling baseline. There were no statistically significant changes over time in levels of calories or other nutrients purchased or in the frequency of visits to fast-food restaurants. Menu labeling at fast-food chain restaurants, which the Affordable Care Act requires to be implemented nationwide in 2016, remains an unproven strategy for improving the nutritional quality of consumer food choices at the population level. Additional policy efforts that go beyond labeling and possibly alter labeling to increase its impact must be considered.
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Lily Lin & Brent McFerran
Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, forthcoming
Abstract:
The average weight of the population has risen rapidly in much of the world. Concurrently, in recent years, advertisers have increased the usage of larger models in their campaigns, and many of these ads claim that their larger models (as compared to thin models commonly used) possess “realistic” body types. Many groups have lauded these moves as beneficial to promoting a healthy body image in society. However, in five studies, the authors found that cues suggesting the acceptance of larger body types resulted in greater intended or actual consumption of food and a reduced motivation to engage in a healthier lifestyle. The authors suggest that one reason why being larger-bodied may appear to be contagious is that as it is seen as more socially permissible, individuals exhibit lower motivation to engage in healthy behaviors and consume greater portions of unhealthy food. The authors also contrast acceptance with communications stigmatizing various body types, and identify limitations of both approaches. The authors conclude with implications for public policy.
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Exposure to Cues of Harsh or Safe Environmental Conditions Alters Food Preferences
Jim Swaffield & Craig Roberts
Evolutionary Psychological Science, June 2015, Pages 69-76
Abstract:
In humans, psychological stress is positively correlated with an increased desire for certain energy-dense food items, indicating that stress may trigger foraging behavior that adapts to perceived current and future resource availability. However, the extent to which such processes influence desire for different kinds of foods remains unclear. Here, we examine the effects of perceived environmental conditions on food preferences across the food spectrum of dairy, meats, vegetables, fruit, grains, and sweets. We first showed images of 30 different food items to participants and recorded their stated desire to eat each kind of food. We then repeated this procedure after exposing participants to cues of either a harsh or a safe environment. As predicted, we found cues of environmental harshness increased the desirability of energy-dense food items. However, there was also evidence for decreased desirability for energy-dense food items following exposure to cues of a relatively safe environment. Our findings indicate that simple manipulations of perceived environmental conditions may trigger changes in desire for different kinds of food. Our study has relevance for increasing efforts to understand eating behavior in order to promote uptake of healthier diets.
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Weight isn’t selling: The insidious effects of weight stigmatization in retail settings
Enrica Ruggs, Michelle Hebl & Amber Williams
Journal of Applied Psychology, September 2015, Pages 1483-1496
Abstract:
In recent years, the literature on the stigma of obesity has grown but there still remains a paucity of research examining specific issues associated with its impact in the workplace. In the current study, we examine 3 such issues related to the influence of weight-based stigmatization in retail settings. First, we highlight research on the impact of obesity in men often is minimized or altogether excluded, and we examine whether weight-based stigmatization influences men in authentic retail settings (Study 1). Across retail contexts, Study 1 reveals that heavy (vs. nonheavy) men do experience significantly more interpersonal (subtle) discrimination. Second, we examine the “why” of weight-based stigmatization and find that weight-related negative stereotypes compound to produce indirect but strong effects of stigmatization in retail settings (Study 2). Third and finally, we examine whether weight-based stigmatization against men and women in retail also influences ratings of associated products and the organizations for which heavy individuals work (also Study 2). Results from Study 2 show that stereotypes work similarly for men and women and that a stigma-by-association effect occurs in which evaluators rate products and organizations associated with heavy (vs. nonheavy) retail personnel more negatively. Finally, we discuss the importance of these findings in gaining a more holistic look at the influence of weight stigmatization in the workplace.
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Television and eating: Repetition enhances food intake
Utsa Mathur & Richard Stevenson
Frontiers in Psychology, November 2015
Abstract:
Some studies find that eating with TV increases food intake while others do not. Some of this variability may reflect the engagingness of what is being watched (i.e., content). To test this we varied engagingness by manipulating content familiarity. Female participants undertook two sessions. In the “Different” session they watched two different episodes of the comedy Friends, with snack food presented during the second episode. In the “Same” session they viewed another episode of Friends twice in succession, with snack food presented during the second repeat showing. The three episodes of Friends used here were fully counterbalanced, so overall the only difference between the “Same” and “Different” sessions was whether the content of the second show was familiar or novel. As expected, 14% less was eaten in the “Different” session, suggesting that novel and presumably more engaging content can reduce intake relative to watching familiar and presumably less engaging content. These findings are consistent with the idea that the engagingness of TV can differentially affect food intake, although boredom or irritability resulting from repeat viewing might also explain this effect.
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Healthy Reflections: The Influence of Mirror Induced Self-Awareness on Taste Perceptions
Ata Jami
Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, forthcoming
Abstract:
Taste, as a focal aspect of food products, plays a major role in food consumption decisions as well as consumers’ eating habits. Here, we show that the taste perception of unhealthy food is malleable, and the presence of a mirror can make unhealthy food less tasty by increasing self-awareness. After eating unhealthy food in front of a mirror, individuals experience the discomfort of acting against the standards of healthy eating. We argue that people attribute this discomfort to the food’s taste since it is difficult to attribute the discomfort to the self while being self-aware. Four studies test the proposed effect of mirror on food taste and consumption, and examine its boundary conditions.
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Eric VanEpps, Julie Downs & George Loewenstein
Journal of Marketing Research, forthcoming
Abstract:
Encouraging consumers to select meals in advance rather than at mealtime has been proposed as a strategy to promote healthier eating decisions, taking advantage of the improved self-control that is thought to accompany delayed decisions. In two field studies at an employee cafeteria and a third in a university setting, we examine how time delays between placing a lunch order and picking it up affect the healthfulness of that lunch. The first, a secondary data analysis, found that longer delays between placing an order and picking up the meal were associated with reductions in calorie content. The second study tested the causality of this relationship by exogenously restricting some lunch orders to be substantially delayed, leading to a marginally significant (approximately five percent) reduction in calories among delayed orders. The third study compared orders for truly immediate consumption versus orders placed in advance, and demonstrated a significant (100 calorie, or approximately ten percent) reduction in lunch calories. We discuss evidence regarding possible theoretical mechanisms underlying this effect, as well as practical implications of our findings.
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Energy Expenditure in Humans and Other Primates: A New Synthesis
Herman Pontzer
Annual Review of Anthropology, 2015, Pages 169-187
Abstract:
This review examines the proximate, ecological, and evolutionary determinants of energy expenditure in humans and primates, with an emphasis on empirical measurements of total energy expenditure (TEE). Body size is the main proximate determinant of TEE, both within and between species; physical activity, genetic variation, and endocrine regulation explain substantially less of the variation in TEE. Basal metabolism is the single largest component of TEE, far exceeding the cost of physical activity, digestion, growth and reproduction, and thermoregulation in most instances. Notably, differences in physical activity do not generally result in corresponding differences in TEE, undermining the utility of activity-based factorial estimates of TEE. Instead, empirical measurements of energy expenditure in humans and other primates suggest that the body adapts dynamically to long-term changes in physical activity, maintaining TEE within an evolved, and relatively narrow, physiological range.
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Health and Education Expansion
Jonathan James
Economics of Education Review, December 2015, Pages 193–215
Abstract:
In this paper I exploit a reform that expanded UK post-compulsory education during the 1980s and 1990s to examine the effect of education on health. The expansion resulted in a rapid increase in education over the whole education distribution. I find evidence that education had an effect in reducing body mass index, waist circumference and weight. For other health measures (self-reported general health, long term or limiting illnesses), blood pressure and health behaviours (smoking and drinking) there were small to no improvements. There is suggestive evidence that the mechanisms driving these results are improvements in labour market and social status.
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Tamara Dubowitz et al.
Health Affairs, November 2015, Pages 1858-1868
Abstract:
Placing full-service supermarkets in food deserts — areas with limited access to healthy food — has been promoted as a way to reduce inequalities in access to healthy food, improve diet, and reduce the risk of obesity. However, previous studies provide scant evidence of such impacts. We surveyed households in two Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, neighborhoods in 2011 and 2014, one of which received a new supermarket in 2013. Comparing trends in the two neighborhoods, we obtained evidence of multiple positive impacts from new supermarket placement. In the new supermarket neighborhood we found net positive changes in overall dietary quality; average daily intakes of kilocalories and added sugars; and percentage of kilocalories from solid fats, added sugars, and alcohol. However, the only positive outcome in the recipient neighborhood specifically associated with regular use of the new supermarket was improved perceived access to healthy food. We did not observe differential improvement between the neighborhoods in fruit and vegetable intake, whole grain consumption, or body mass index. Incentivizing supermarkets to locate in food deserts is appropriate. However, efforts should proceed with caution, until the mechanisms by which the stores affect diet and their ability to influence weight status are better understood.
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Resting metabolic rate varies by race and by sleep duration
Andrea Spaeth, David Dinges & Namni Goel
Obesity, December 2015, Pages 2349–2356
Objective: Short sleep duration is a significant risk factor for weight gain, particularly in African Americans and men. Increased caloric intake underlies this relationship, but it remains unclear whether decreased energy expenditure is a contributory factor. The current study assessed the impact of sleep restriction and recovery sleep on energy expenditure in African American and Caucasian men and women.
Methods: Healthy adults participated in a controlled laboratory study. After two baseline sleep nights, subjects were randomized to an experimental (n = 36; 4 h sleep/night for five nights followed by one night with 12 h recovery sleep) or control condition (n = 11; 10 h sleep/night). Resting metabolic rate and respiratory quotient were measured using indirect calorimetry in the morning after overnight fasting.
Results: Resting metabolic rate — the largest component of energy expenditure — decreased after sleep restriction (−2.6%, P = 0.032) and returned to baseline levels after recovery sleep. No changes in resting metabolic rate were observed in control subjects. Relative to Caucasians (n = 14), African Americans (n = 22) exhibited comparable daily caloric intake but a lower resting metabolic rate (P = 0.043) and higher respiratory quotient (P = 0.013) regardless of sleep duration.
Conclusions: Sleep restriction decreased morning resting metabolic rate in healthy adults, suggesting that sleep loss leads to metabolic changes aimed at conserving energy.
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Kristin Osterberg et al.
Obesity, December 2015, Pages 2364–2370
Objective: The objective was to determine the effects of the probiotic, VSL#3, on body and fat mass, insulin sensitivity, and skeletal muscle substrate oxidation following 4 weeks of a high-fat diet.
Methods: Twenty non-obese males (18-30 years) participated in the study. Following a 2-week eucaloric control diet, participants underwent dual X-ray absorptiometry to determine body composition, an intravenous glucose tolerance test to determine insulin sensitivity, and a skeletal muscle biopsy for measurement of in vitro substrate oxidation. Subsequently, participants were randomized to receive either VSL#3 or placebo daily during 4 weeks of consuming a High-fat (55% fat), hypercaloric diet (+1,000 kcal day−1). Participants repeated all measurements following the intervention.
Results: Body mass (1.42 ± 0.42 kg vs. 2.30 ± 0.28 kg) and fat mass (0.63 ± 0.09 kg vs. 1.29 ± 0.27 kg) increased less following the High-fat diet in the VSL#3 group compared with placebo. However, there were no significant changes in insulin sensitivity or in vitro skeletal muscle pyruvate and fat oxidation with the High-fat diet or VSL#3.
Conclusions: VSL#3 supplementation appears to have provided some protection from body mass gain and fat accumulation in healthy young men consuming a High-fat and high-energy diet.
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Toddlers’ bias to look at average versus obese figures relates to maternal anti-fat prejudice
Ted Ruffman et al.
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Anti-fat prejudice (weight bias, obesity stigma) is strong, prevalent, and increasing in adults and is associated with negative outcomes for those with obesity. However, it is unknown how early in life this prejudice forms and the reasons for its development. We examined whether infants and toddlers might display an anti-fat bias and, if so, whether it was influenced by maternal anti-fat attitudes through a process of social learning. Mother–child dyads (N = 70) split into four age groups participated in a preferential looking paradigm whereby children were presented with 10 pairs of average and obese human figures in random order, and their viewing times (preferential looking) for the figures were measured. Mothers’ anti-fat prejudice and education were measured along with mothers’ and fathers’ body mass index (BMI) and children’s television viewing time. We found that older infants (M = 11 months) had a bias for looking at the obese figures, whereas older toddlers (M = 32 months) instead preferred looking at the average-sized figures. Furthermore, older toddlers’ preferential looking was correlated significantly with maternal anti-fat attitudes. Parental BMI, education, and children’s television viewing time were unrelated to preferential looking. Looking times might signal a precursor to explicit fat prejudice socialized via maternal anti-fat attitudes.
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Eric Loucks et al.
International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, forthcoming
Purpose: To evaluate whether dispositional mindfulness (defined as the ability to attend nonjudgmentally to one’s own physical and mental processes) is associated with obesity and central adiposity.
Methods: Study participants (n = 394) were from the New England Family Study, a prospective birth cohort, with median age 47 years. Dispositional mindfulness was assessed using the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). Central adiposity was assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans with primary outcomes android fat mass and android/gynoid ratio. Obesity was defined as body mass index ≥30 kg/m2.
Results: Multivariable-adjusted regression analyses demonstrated that participants with low vs. high MAAS scores were more likely to be obese (prevalence ratio for obesity = 1.34 (95 % confidence limit (CL): 1.02, 1.77)), adjusted for age, gender, race/ethnicity, birth weight, childhood socioeconomic status, and childhood intelligence. Furthermore, participants with low vs. high MAAS level had a 448 (95 % CL 39, 857) g higher android fat mass and a 0.056 (95 % CL 0.003, 0.110) greater android/gynoid fat mass ratio. Prospective analyses demonstrated that participants who were not obese in childhood and became obese in adulthood (n = 154) had −0.21 (95 % CL −0.41, −0.01; p = 0.04) lower MAAS scores than participants who were not obese in childhood or adulthood (n = 203).
Conclusions: Dispositional mindfulness may be inversely associated with obesity and adiposity. Replication studies are needed to adequately establish whether low dispositional mindfulness is a risk factor for obesity and adiposity.