Effect of snack-food proximity on intake in general population samples with higher and lower cognitive resource

Hunter, Jennifer A.; Hollands, Gareth J; Couturier, Dominique‐Laurent; Marteau, Theresa

doi:10.1016/j.appet.2017.11.101

Cited by 42 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Given that Shiv and Fedorikhin found that the effect of cognitive load in their study was only apparent when actual foods were presented [ 33 ], repeating this element of the study with choices between physically-present foods would be valuable. Nevertheless, the lack of effect may indicate that cognitive load did not influence people’s choice of food, as has previously been demonstrated in studies of food proximity [ 47 ]. This could suggest that altering the availability of healthier and less healthy food impacts behaviour without requiring cognitive resource, such as response inhibition, as has been hypothesised for interventions targeting physical micro-environments [ 3 , 9 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Availability of healthier vs. less healthy food and food choice: an online experiment

Pechey

Marteau

2018

BMC Public Health

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BackgroundOur environments shape our behaviour, but little research has addressed whether healthier cues have a similar impact to less healthy ones. This online study examined the impact on food choices of the number of (i) healthier and (ii) less healthy snack foods available, and possible moderation by cognitive load and socioeconomic status.MethodsUK adults (n = 1509) were randomly allocated to one of six groups (two cognitive load x three availability conditions). Participants memorised a 7-digit number (7777777: low cognitive load; 8529713: high cognitive load). While remembering this number, participants chose the food they would most like to eat from: (a) two healthier and two less healthy foods, (b) six healthier and two less healthy foods, or (c) two healthier and six less healthy foods.ResultsCompared to being offered two healthier and two less healthy options, the odds of choosing a healthier option were twice as high (Odds Ratio (OR): 2.0, 95%CI: 1.6, 2.6) with four additional healthier options, while the odds of choosing a less healthy option were four times higher (OR: 4.3, 95%CI: 3.1, 6.0) with four additional less healthy options. There were no significant main effects or interactions with cognitive load or socioeconomic status.ConclusionsThis study provides a novel test of the impact of healthier vs. less healthy food cues on food choice, suggesting that less healthy food cues have a larger effect than healthier ones. Consequently, removing less healthy as opposed to adding healthier food options could have greater impact on healthier choices. Studies are now needed in which choices are made between physically-present foods.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-018-6112-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Availability of healthier vs. less healthy food and food choice: an online experiment

Pechey

Marteau

2018

BMC Public Health

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“…It has been hypothesised that because interventions that manipulate environmental cues do not rely on people consciously engaging and forming intentions to change their behaviour, their effects will not be moderated by executive function, specifically response inhibition. Because executive function resources are patterned by SEP, tending to be lower in lower SEP groups [12,13], this may also mean that SEP would not moderate the effect of such interventions (although SEP could modify these associations in other ways). The purpose of examining moderation by these two variables is therefore to give a preliminary indication of the intervention's potential to change behaviour in a way that does not exacerbate health inequalities, as an absence of moderation would suggest the intervention is similarly effective in those with varying levels of cognitive resource [4,12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because executive function resources are patterned by SEP, tending to be lower in lower SEP groups [12,13], this may also mean that SEP would not moderate the effect of such interventions (although SEP could modify these associations in other ways). The purpose of examining moderation by these two variables is therefore to give a preliminary indication of the intervention's potential to change behaviour in a way that does not exacerbate health inequalities, as an absence of moderation would suggest the intervention is similarly effective in those with varying levels of cognitive resource [4,12]. Regarding sensitivity to perceptual cues, being more sensitive to external (relative to internal) cues could feasibly result in manipulations of environmental cues such as plate size having a greater impact, although to our knowledge no previous research has directly tested this.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plate size and food consumption: A pre-registered experimental study in a general population sample

Kosīte¹,

König²,

De-loyde³

et al. 2019

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Background: There is considerable uncertainty regarding the impact of tableware size on food consumption. Most existing studies have used small and unrepresentative samples and have not followed recommended procedures for randomised controlled trials, leading to increased risk of bias. In the first pre-registered study to date, we examined the impact on consumption of using larger versus smaller plates for self-served food. We also assessed impact on the underlying meal micro-structure, such as number of servings and eating rate, which has not previously been studied. Methods: The setting was a purpose-built naturalistic eating behaviour laboratory. A general population sample of 134 adult participants (aged 18-61 years) was randomly allocated to one of two groups varying in the size of plate used for self-serving lunch: large or small. The primary outcome was amount of food energy (kcal) consumed during a meal. Additionally, we assessed impact on meal micro-structure, and examined potential modifying effects of executive function, socioeconomic position, and sensitivity to perceptual cues. Results: There was no clear evidence of a difference in consumption between the two groups: Cohen's d = 0.07 (95% CI [− 0.27, 0.41]), with participants in the large plate group consuming on average 19.2 (95% CI [− 76.5, 115.0]) more calories (3%) compared to the small plate group (large: mean (SD) = 644.1 (265.0) kcal, versus small: 624.9 (292.3) kcal). The difference between the groups was not modified by individual characteristics. There was no evidence of impact on meal micro-structure, with the exception of more food being left on the plate when larger plates were used. Conclusions: This study suggests that previous meta-analyses of a low-quality body of evidence may have considerably overestimated the effects of plate size on consumption. However, the possibility of a clinically significant effectin either directioncannot be excluded. Well-conducted trials of tableware size in real-world field settings are now needed to determine whether changing the size of tableware has potential to contribute to efforts to reduce consumption at population-level.

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“…The relevance of such research is underlined by studies that have demonstrated an association between the increased density of fast-food outlets and increased incidences of cardiovascular diseases and unhealthy lifestyles [ 16 ]. Experimental lab studies have indeed confirmed that the proximity of unhealthy snacks, typically within arm’s reach, increases the likelihood of unhealthy snack consumption [ 17 , 18 , 19 ]. However, studies have also found that placing healthy snacks in greater proximity increases the consumption of these healthier products.…”

Section: Problems Arising From the Food Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Snacks and The City: Unexpected Low Sales of an Easy-Access, Tasty, and Healthy Snack at an Urban Snacking Hotspot

Schlinkert

Gillebaart

Benjamins

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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: While many people declare an intention to eat and snack more healthily, a large body of research has found that these intentions often do not translate into actual behavior. This failure to fulfil intentions is regularly attributed to the obesogenic environment, on which basis it is assumed that changing the food environment may lead to more healthy snacking behavior. To test this premise in real life practice, the present research project investigated whether making a healthy snack easy-to-access in an urban environment characterized by unhealthy snacking would support people in their intentions of purchasing more healthy snacks. The urban snack project consisted of three phases. In Phase 1, a hotspot location for unhealthy snacking was determined by using a Global Positioning System to track people’s snacking locations anda survey to verify the location . In Phase 2, an attractive snack was developed that met consumers’ criteria of what constituted a healthy and tasty snack, together with corresponding branding that also included a small food truck from which to sell the newly developed snacks. In Phase 3, the snack was sold from the food truck located at the previously determined unhealthy snacking hotspot. We counted the number of snacks sold and canvassed people’s opinions about the snack and its branding, finding that in spite of people’s appreciation for the snack, the food truck, and the branding, actual sales of the snack were very low. In the Discussion, we name predominant eating and purchasing habits as possible reasons for these low sales. Future research could focus on placing the healthy snack directly beside people’s habitual snack purchase location to ensure that the new choice gets better recognized. Overall, the findings suggest that merely placing healthy snacks more prominently in people’s food environment is not sufficient to lead people to snack more healthily.

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Effect of snack-food proximity on intake in general population samples with higher and lower cognitive resource

Cited by 42 publications

References 56 publications

Availability of healthier vs. less healthy food and food choice: an online experiment

Availability of healthier vs. less healthy food and food choice: an online experiment

Plate size and food consumption: A pre-registered experimental study in a general population sample

Snacks and The City: Unexpected Low Sales of an Easy-Access, Tasty, and Healthy Snack at an Urban Snacking Hotspot

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