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Abstracts/Appetite ■■ (2014) 342–362
Impact of expected and actual energy content on consumer food memory for a whole meal N. GODINOT, L. MORIN-AUDEBRAND, K. JOLY, C. PELLETIER, T. THALER, C. FORDE, N. MARTIN. Nestle Research Center, PO Box 44, CH-1000 Lausanne 26.
[email protected] The current study investigated whether the expected or the actual energy content of a whole meal influenced consumers’ recall of liking and satiating properties for the whole meal and recognition memory of meal items. In a between groups design, participants (N = 97) were randomly allocated to one of three test conditions and served a multi-item lunch under the cover-story: They received either a high energy lunch (1300 kcal), or a lower energy lunch (700 kcal), or the lower energy lunch with a “weight management” label. Hunger feelings before and after the lunch and liking for lunch items were recorded. The next day, participants were submitted to a series of memory tests. The ability to recall meal items did not differ between conditions, but differences were found in their subjective descriptions – with more hedonic terms used for the high energy lunch, and more terms related to weight management in the labelled lower energy lunch. Of particular interest, while differences were initially observed between the three conditions in ratings of hunger directly after the meal, these differences were no longer significant in the remembered hunger ratings taken a day later; indicating that the post-consumption period impacted the memory of the product experience, changing the perception of liking and fullness. This study suggests that consumers’ memory of their appetite feelings after a whole meal eaten in ecologically valid conditions is not an exact replica of what was experienced. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.06.096
Feeding difficulties, food neophobia and dietary variety in infants with cow’s milk allergy K. MASLIN, T. DEAN, S.H. ARSHAD, C. VENTER. David Hide Asthma and Allergy Research Centre, St. Mary’s Hospital, Newport, IOW PO30 5TG.
[email protected] Cow’s milk allergy is the most common infant food allergy in the UK. Feeding difficulties and food neophobia can be particularly problematic in children with food allergy, as they may further limit the variety of an already restricted diet. The aim of this study was to determine the level of feeding difficulties and food neophobia in this population and to investigate any link with dietary variety. Recruitment took place during routine allergy clinic appointments on the Isle of Wight, UK. All infants aged between 8–24 months old consuming a cow’s milk free diet were invited to take part. Parents completed validated questionnaires regarding their child’s eating habits. Twenty infants with a mean age of 14.7 months were recruited. The mean feeding difficulties score of 31 (SD ± 15.3) was within the normal range. Four infants had a score diagnostic of clinical feeding difficulties (>45). The mean food neophobia score of 53 (SD ± 14.3) is considerably higher than that previously reported in a study of healthy children of a similar age. Scores of feeding difficulties (r = 0.54, p < 0.01) and food neophobia (r = 0.49, p < 0.05) were significantly inversely correlated with the overall variety of the diet. No correlation was found between feeding difficulties or food neophobia and age, age of introduction of solid or lumpy foods, maternal education or breastfeeding history. Future plans to recruit a larger sample size and a control group will explore these issues further. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.06.097
Don’t (do) stand so close to me. Mere proximity effects in overweight and underweight contexts L.D. STAFFORD, K. BANKS. University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 2DY.
[email protected] Research has demonstrated that discrimination against a nonstigmatized individual can occur when they are simply in close proximity to a stigmatized (i.e. overweight) person. This striking display has been termed the ‘mere proximity effect’. In the study here, participants (n = 63) completed a mock hiring task where we explored whether a positive consequence might occur when a candidate was pictured next to a female corresponding to a ‘thin ideal’. Participants were randomly allocated to one of three conditions whereby the female in the photograph was manipulated to appear either average weight, underweight or overweight. They then answered various questions on the suitability of the candidate for the job, followed by an Implicit Association Task (IAT) designed to measure anti-fat attitudes. Results revealed biases for healthcare provision in the overweight and interestingly underweight group, whereas earning potential was higher in the underweight group. Increases in implicit anti-fat bias predicted more positive perception in the underweight context, but a more negative bias in the overweight group. These findings demonstrate that the mere proximity effect can be influenced positively or negatively depending on the perceived status of the non-target individual and that implicit attitudes act to modulate this effect. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.06.098
Diet and wellbeing in undergraduate students G. RICHARDS, A.P. SMITH. Centre for Occupational and Health Psychology, Cardiff University, 63 Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3AS.
[email protected] It is well established that poor diet can cause physical complications, such as obesity, diabetes and scurvy. However, nutrition is also known to exert subtle effects on cognition, mood and behaviour. Initial cross-sectional data from a longitudinal research project are presented in order to explore relationships between diet and mental wellbeing in young adults. Data were collected from a cohort of first year undergraduate psychology students (N = 193) through questionnaires administered at a departmental introduction to research event held in the first week of the academic year. Eighteen items relating to frequency of dietary consumption were factor analysed, producing a two-factor model. The first factor consisted of unhealthy dietary variables, and the second factor consisted of healthy dietary variables. Initial analyses suggest that certain aspects of mental wellbeing may be related to these dietary factors, with healthy diet predicting above average mental wellbeing, and unhealthy diet predicting below average mental wellbeing. These results therefore indicate that dietary change may have potential as an intervention to improve mental wellbeing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.06.099
