The Effect of Food Images on Mood and Arousal Depends on Dietary Histories and the Fat and Sugar Content of Foods Depicted

Abstract

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;"> <b><span lang="EN-US">Background:</span></b><span lang="EN-US"><span> While brain imaging studies show that reward regions in the human brain that regulate reward-guided behavior and integrate sensory modalities of smell, taste, and texture respond preferentially to high calorie foods, few studies account for dietary histories or account for recent behavioral evidence showing preferential responding for fruits (a low calorie food that tastes sweet). To address these concerns, the present study tested the hypothesis that images of high/low fat and sugar foods, even sugary foods that are low calorie (</span><i><span>i.e</span></i><span>., fruits), will enhance emotional responsiveness and that these changes may be related to dietary histories with fat and sugar intake. </span><b><span>Method: </span></b><span>Participants were shown 4 sets of 15 food images with each food image automatically timed every 9 s to transition to a new food image; partici</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span>pant pre-post mood and arousal was measured. The 4 sets of food images were high fat-high sugar (HFHS; desserts), high fat-low sugar (HFLS; fried foods), low fat-high sugar (LFHS; fruits), or low fat-low sugar (LFLS; vegetables) foods. To account for dietary histories, participants also completed estimated daily intake scales (EDIS) for sugar and fat. </span><b><span>Results:</span></b><span> Mood and arousal significantly increased in all groups, except Group LFLS, and even in a group that was low calorie but shown foods that taste sweet, </span><i><span>i.e</span></i><span>., Group LFHS. Interestingly, changes in arousal, but not mood, were dependent on participant histories with sugar and fat intake. </span><b><span>Conclusion:</span></b><span> Changes in emotional responsiveness to food images were nutrient-specific, which can be a more detailed level of analysis for assessing responsiveness to food im</span></span><span lang="EN-US">ages. Also, participant histories with sugar and fat should be taken into account as these histories can explain the changes in arousal observed here.</span> </p

Expressing Food through Art: Evidence for a Nutrient-Specific Effect on Mood

“…The results presented here demonstrate that artistic expressions of high fat, high sugar, and sweet-tasting foods in an art session can be used as an effective short-term intervention to enhance mood, and these results further extend a growing body of neurobiological and behavioral research showing a significant impact of the visibility of high fat, high sugar, and sweet-tasting foods on positive mood changes [12,14,[21][22][23][24]. These findings further suggest that interventions used to enhance mood can focus on depicting images of high fat, high sugar, and sweet-tasting foods to produce the largest positive changes in mood when foods are used as the stimulus image.…”

“…In addition, the colors that were chosen allowed participants to color each food image with colors that were inherent to the food depicted, meaning that the results are most likely due to the objective depiction of the food itself, and not the participant's abstract interpretation of the image. In addition, changes in arousal, which can be correlated with changes in mood [14], also did not differ between groups. Hence, the positive effects of creating artistic images of high fat and sweet-tasting foods was likely specific to the actual concrete depiction of these foods, which are known to stimulate a human brain reward response [12,21].…”

“…Participants were randomly assigned to one of four art groups that varied based on the type of food stimulus participants were asked to draw: high fat-high sugar (HFHS, n = 16; stimulus food: cupcakes), high fat-low sugar (HFLS, n = 14; stimulus food: pizza), low fat-high sugar (LFHS, n = 18; stimulus food: strawberries), or low fatlow sugar (LFLS, n = 13; stimulus food: peppers). To begin, participants were given an established exercise to prime a neutral emotional state [14], by closing their eyes and imagining a place or situation that was neither positive nor negative. After 10 s participants opened their eyes and rated their current level of mood and arousal on the affect grid.…”

“…Behavioral data show similar patterns of over-responsiveness to images of "forbidden" foods, such as chocolates and other appetizing foods [24,25]. Visual images of sweet-tasting foods can also enhance consumption [13,26], ratings of deliciousness of foods [27], and positive emotion, even for healthy foods that taste sweet, i.e., fruits [14]. These findings suggest that without consuming food, men and women respond positively to the mere sight of many foods, which has implications for research on the effects of food on mood.…”

“…Among clinical and nonclinical populations, evidence suggests that expressing emotion in art can significantly enhance mood [9,10], with many effects of enhanced mood attributed to the visual aesthetics of the images depicted [11]. Because the visual aesthetics of food can increase brain reward responses [12] food intake [13] and enhance emotion [14], it appears possible, but yet-to-be-tested, that expressions of foods in art can also serve to enhance mood.…”