Sensing the Snacking Experience: Bodily Sensations Linked to the Consumption of Healthy and Unhealthy Snack Foods-A Comparison between Body Mass Index Levels.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has highlighted the need for immediate action regarding the escalating global prevalence of overweight and obesity. Based on the need for long-term strategies supporting dietary behaviour changes, the concept of 'interoception' (i.e., sensing the body's internal state) has been proposed as promising for understanding and controlling food intake behaviours. As eating behaviours are motivated by the need for securing energy demands as well as the desire for pleasure, investigating the bodily sensations perceived in relation to food consumption can support our understanding of human food and eating behaviours. Here, a consumer study was conducted on 286 Danish consumers to explore the interoceptive experience of snack food consumption. This study included an investigation of the consumers' interoceptive capabilities and ability to feel pleasure, intuitive eating behaviours, snack food consumption frequency, the drivers of snack food consumption, food-related pleasure, and post-ingestive sensations linked to snack food consumption. The study was conducted on consumers with different Body Mass Index (BMI) levels to study potential differences between these groups. The study showed normal interoceptive capabilities and abilities to feel pleasure, with no differences between BMI groups. Regarding intuitive eating, the study found intuitive eating to be more prevalent among the group holding normal BMI. No significant differences between BMI groups were found in terms of snack intake frequency. However, differences between BMI groups were found in terms of: the drivers of snack consumption, the aspects bringing food-related pleasure from snack consumption, and the post-ingestive sensations felt after eating snack foods.

Measuring Pleasure from Food-Validation of the Food Pleasure Scale by Multiple Techniques and Mixed Methods.

The development of scales and questionnaires to assess pleasure perception has gained prominence, particularly for evaluating anhedonia in mental disorders. The Food Pleasure Scale is a comprehensive tool exclusively dedicated to measuring pleasure perception from food and food-related experiences. This study aimed to evaluate the face validity and consistency reliability of the Food Pleasure Scale using a mixed methods approach. Twenty-two participants completed the Food Pleasure Scale questionnaire and participated in in-depth interviews to understand their interpretation of the scale items. The interview data underwent thematic analysis, and the quantitative survey data was compared to the qualitative interview responses. Results indicated a high level of understanding of all items in the Food Pleasure Scale, confirming its face validity and applicability. The mixed methods approach supported the consistency reliability, showing consistency between quantitative measures and participants' explicit and implicit expressions of food pleasure. Furthermore, the study revealed a novel aspect related to food pleasure: the concept of "making an effort". Overall, this study highlights the comprehensibility, validity, and potential of the Food Pleasure Scale in consumer studies. It effectively captures the subjective experience of pleasure derived from food and food-related encounters, making it a valuable tool for further research in this domain.

Are orofacial pain and xerostomia associated with differences in diet, sensory perception, appetite and enjoyment of eating?-An explorative study.

BACKGROUND: Orofacial function is believed to influence an individual's diet. knowledge on appetite and enjoyment of eating in orofacially impaired individuals is scarce. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to explore potential associations between impaired orofacial function, that is, orofacial pain, jaw function limitation and xerostomia, respectively, and diet, appetite, taste perception, as well as the enjoyment of eating. METHODS: An online questionnaire was shared among Aarhus University's dental patients and through social media. A convenience sample of 351 individuals responded (97 men, 254 women, aged 18-86 years). Participants were divided into groups with and without orofacial pain or xerostomia based on responses. Questions about food intake, appetite, meal-related well-being and oral/general health were included. Data were analysed using Mann Whitney U tests, Spearman's correlation, Chi-square tests, and t-tests. RESULTS: Participants with (n = 123) and without (n = 228) orofacial pain differed significantly regarding age, perceived oral/general health, frequency of consumption of for example cooked vegetables and raw whole fruit, perception of sourness, chewiness, and nausea/pain when eating (p ≤ .031). Participants with (n = 101) and without (n = 250) xerostomia differed significantly regarding perceived oral/general health, intake of prepared fruit, alcohol, ice cream/mousse/pudding, general appetite, intake of breakfast and liquid snacks, nausea/pain when eating, taste and chewiness of food (p ≤ .038). CONCLUSION: Diet, appetite, taste and sensory perception, as well as enjoyment of eating of individuals reporting orofacial pain and/or xerostomia differed slightly to that of individuals free of such symptoms. However, due to the explorative nature of this study, the results should be interpreted with caution pending further research on potential long-term effects on nutritional status and well-being.

The Relationship between Social Anhedonia and Perceived Pleasure from Food-An Exploratory Investigation on a Consumer Segment with Depression and Anxiety.

Anhedonia, the diminished ability to experience pleasure, is a key symptom of a range of mental and neurobiological disorders and is associated with altered eating behavior. This research study investigated the concept of anhedonia in relation to mental disorders and the perception of pleasure from food to better understand the link between anhedonia and eating behavior. A consumer survey (n = 1051), including the Food Pleasure Scale, the Chapman Revised Social Anhedonia Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire, and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale, was conducted to explore the perception of pleasure from food among people with anhedonic traits. Comparative analyses were performed between people with symptoms of depression and/or anxiety and people with no symptoms of these conditions. A segmentation analysis was furthermore performed based on three levels of anhedonia: Low, Intermediate and High anhedonia. Thus, insights into how food choice and eating habits may be affected by different levels of anhedonia are provided for the first time. Our findings showed that the 'Low anhedonia' segment found pleasure in all aspects of food pleasure, except for the aspect 'eating alone'. 'Eating alone' was, however, appreciated by the 'Intermediate anhedonia' and 'High anhedonia' segments. Both the 'Intermediate anhedonia' and 'High anhedonia' segments proved that their perceptions of food pleasure in general were affected by anhedonia, wherein the more complex aspects in particular, such as 'product information' and 'physical sensation', proved to be unrelated to food pleasure. For the 'High anhedonia' segment, the sensory modalities of food were also negatively associated with food pleasure, indicating that at this level of anhedonia the food itself is causing aversive sensations and expectations. Thus, valuable insights into the food pleasure profiles of people with different levels of anhedonia have been found for future research in the fields of mental illness, (food) anhedonia, and consumer behaviors.

Is Stress Taking the Pleasure Out of Food?-A Characterization of the Food Pleasure Profiles, Appetite, and Eating Behaviors of People with Chronic Stress.

Psychological stressors frequently occur in modern society, and are associated with general anhedonic traits (inability to experience pleasure) and altered eating behavior. As eating behavior is largely motivated by a desire for pleasure, the Food Pleasure Scale (FPS) was introduced as a new research tool for investigating aspects of pleasure from food-related experiences. Thereby, insights on whether some aspects of pleasure are more affected by stress than others can be investigated, and can help explain why changes in eating behavior are seen when under the influence of stress. A consumer survey including n = 190 Danish consumers all with moderate or high levels of perceived stress was conducted to explore the perception of pleasure from food, general appetite, meal patterns, as well as specific food preferences. The study showed that the majority found pleasure in the sensory modalities of food, as well as in the 'comforting' aspects of food pleasure. Furthermore, the moderately stressed respondents had fewer main meals and more post-dinner snacks and night meals, as compared to before falling ill, whereas the highly stressed group showed signs of anhedonic traits and losing appetite altogether. The present study contributes to our understanding of how a common condition, such as chronic stress, can affect individual, as well as public, health.

Why Being 'Stressed' Is 'Desserts' in Reverse-The Effect of Acute Psychosocial Stress on Food Pleasure and Food Choice.

The link between acute stress, food pleasure and eating behavior in humans by employing measures of individual reward mechanisms has not been investigated as of yet. Having these insights is key to understanding why many people experience a change in eating behavior when experiencing stress. Thirty-five Danes (mean age 21.71 years) underwent a stress-inducing and relaxation-inducing task based on a randomized cross-over study design. Both tasks were combined with the Leeds Food Preference Questionnaire, to investigate the effect of stress on specific measures of food reward. Furthermore, participants chose a snack, as a covert measure of actual food choice. The study found no effect on explicit liking, explicit wanting or relative preference. For implicit wanting, an effect was detected on high-fat sweet foods, with increasing scores for the stress-induced condition. Moreover, 54% chose a different snack following the stress-inducing condition. Interestingly, 14% chose to change their snack choice to no snack at all. Results suggest acute psychosocial stress can increase cravings for highly palatable foods for some, while for others an experience of loss of appetite prevails. Overall, this study points to a further understanding of why consumers have issues with making healthy food choices, ultimately affecting public health too.

Food Pleasure Profiles-An Exploratory Case Study of the Relation between Drivers of Food Pleasure and Lifestyle and Personality Traits in a Danish Consumer Segment.

A greater comprehension of factors contributing to pleasure from food-related experiences could increase understanding of underlying processes around different eating behaviours. We explored drivers of food pleasure and whether certain consumer characteristics were associated with specific food pleasure profiles. This study aimed to investigate (1) how Danish consumers vary in terms of primary drivers of food pleasure, and (2) how differences in food pleasure are related to specific sociodemographic, lifestyle, health and eating behavioural personality traits. Three-hundred and fifty-five respondents (mean age 33.3 years) rated the importance of different drivers of food pleasure, along with sociodemographic, lifestyle, health and eating behaviour variables. Segmentation analysis was performed based on emerging food pleasure dimensions, and profiling of segments was conducted by multivariate regression analysis and calculations of odds ratios. The results demonstrated that five specific consumer segments could be defined, 'Sensory-pleasure Seekers' (50%), 'Internal-pleasure Seekers' (34%), 'Contextual-pleasure Seekers' (17%), 'Exploratory-pleasure seekers' (13%) and 'Confirming-pleasure seekers' (5%), each with specific characteristics. Importantly, this research indicates that a link between mental health, personality, eating behaviour and perceived food pleasure is evident. These insights contribute to the comprehension of the complex nature of food choices of importance to accommodating public health issues.

Sensory Specific Desires. The Role of Sensory Taste Exposure in Desire for Food with a Similar or Different Taste Profile.

The present study investigated how the sensory taste profile of a meal altered the subjective desire, wanting and liking of foods with a sweet, salty, sour, bitter, fatty, and spicy sensory profile, respectively. Participants (n = 85) ate a meal with a pronounced sensory taste profile: (1) sweet, (2) salty, or (3) sweet and salty combined. Self-reports of appetite, pleasantness, and sensory specific desires (SSD) were evaluated over the course of the meal using VAS-scales. SSDs were further studied through alterations in liking and desire for food samples with the main sensory profile being sweet (peach), salty (pretzel), sour (green apple), bitter (dark chocolate), fatty (whipped cream), and spicy (chilli nut), respectively. Consumption of food with a pronounced sensory taste profile was found to suppress the desire for food with a similar sensory taste profile, while the desire for different sensory profiles were enhanced or not affected. Further, when exposed to two pronounced tastes within the same meal, suppression of sensory desires was not only specific for the exposure tastes but tended to go beyond the sensory exposure. The findings suggest that taste variation within a meal holds the potential to create more satisfying meals, which can hinder additional desires after a meal and thus, lower additional calorie intake.

A Conceptual Framework for Multi-Dimensional Measurements of Food Related Pleasure-The Food Pleasure Scale.

In modern times, the majority of food intake is believed to be driven by hedonic processes, rather than homeostatic ones. Various factors have been found to influence the hedonic eating experience and thereby influence eating behaviour, and each factor can be regarded a piece that contributes to parts of the total picture of the hedonic response to food. As a result, the literature on the hedonic response to food-related experiences is comprehensive, but at the same time rather fragmented; and importantly, it is not clear how individuals/segments differ in key drivers of their hedonic experience and the extent to which food pleasure is perceived. In this paper, we present a conceptual framework for the development of a scale (self-report questionnaire) to measure the qualitative and quantitative aspects of food-related pleasure, the Food Pleasure Scale. We introduce the concept of (an)hedonia and scales developed in the past for its measurement, identify the spectrum of characteristics influencing food-related pleasure and explain the relevance of developing such a scale. Based on this theoretical framework, a strategy for the development of the Food Pleasure Scale is proposed.

A Detailed Characterisation of Appetite, Sensory Perceptional, and Eating-Behavioural Effects of COVID-19: Self-Reports from the Acute and Post-Acute Phase of Disease.

Sensory perception alterations are common in relation to COVID-19 disease, but less is known about the characteristic of the sensory alterations, and how they associate with alterations in appetite and eating behaviour. The current study aims to investigate the acute and long-term effects of COVID-19 disease on (1) the desire for food, hunger, and satiety sensations; (2) smell, taste, and flavour perception; (3) meals and intake of food types; and (4) the frequency of commonly applied strategies to tackle potential changes in appetite and sensory perception. An online survey was conducted among Danish adults (n = 102) who had experienced changes in appetite, sensory perception, and/or food-related pleasure due to COVID-19 disease. Key results include appetite-altering effects at all times during the day when suffering from COVID-19 and often associated with impaired sensory function. Severe sensory perception alterations were found, namely, for the perception of taste, ageusia > hypogeusia > hypergeusia, and for the perception of smell, anosmia > parosmia > hyposmia > hyperosmia. Eating behavioural changes included alteration in quantitative and qualitative aspects of intake. The effects were, in general, more pronounced during the acute phase of disease than during the post-acute phase. The findings illustrate the complexity by which COVID-19 affects human appetite, sensory perception, and eating behaviour, but also point to strategies to cope with these changes.

Possibilities for Maintaining Appetite in Recovering COVID-19 Patients.

COVID-19 and sequelae thereof are known to cause chemosensory dysfunction, posing a risk for intake and adequate nutrition for recovery. The overall objective of this study was to investigate the subjective strategies for maintaining appetite applied by patients recovering from COVID-19. The study included 19 in-depth interviews, focusing on patients suffering from long-term effects of COVID-19. The results were analysed using a thematic analysis for qualitative data. Results on strategies for maintaining appetite included four key themes: (1) a focus on well-functioning senses, (2) a focus on familiar foods, (3) a focus on the eating environment, and (4) a focus on post-ingestive well-being. It was found that factors prior to, during and after food intake, as well as the context, could influence desire to eat and pleasure related to food intake. As ageusia and anosmia make characterization of food difficult, being able to recognize and memorize its flavour was important to engage in consumption. Under normal circumstances, the hedonic value of food relies predominantly on the flavour of foods. When suffering from chemosensory dysfunction, shifting focus towards the texture of food, including trigeminal stimulation during consumption, were beneficial for maintaining appetite and food-related pleasure. Furthermore, a focus on the holistic satisfying feelings of choosing healthy food, as well as a focus on other people's enjoyment during meals were reported to boost well-being around food intake. The study elaborated our understanding of the complex consequences of COVID-19, and can be applied in health promoting initiatives targeted patients recovering from COVID-19.

Post-Ingestive Sensations Driving Post-Ingestive Food Pleasure: A Cross-Cultural Consumer Study Comparing Denmark and China.

Culture is one of the main factors that influence food assessment. This cross-cultural research aimed to compare Chinese and Danish consumers in their post-ingestive drivers of Post-Ingestive Food Pleasure (PIFP). We define PIFP as a "subjective conscious sensation of pleasure and joy experienced after eating". We conducted two in-country consumer studies in Denmark (n = 48) and in China (n = 53), measuring post-ingestive sensations and PIFP using visual analogue scale, for three hours following consumption of a breakfast meal. Key results revealed perceived Satisfaction, Mental, Overall and Physical wellbeing to be highly influential on PIFP in both countries. Moreover, Danish consumers perceived appetite-related sensations such as Satiety, Hunger, Desire-to-eat and In-need-of-food to be influential on PIFP, which was not the case in China. In China, more vitality-related sensations such as Energized, Relaxation and Concentration were found to be drivers of PIFP. These results suggest similarities but also distinct subtleties in the cultural constructs of PIFP in Denmark and in China. Focusing on Food Pleasure as a post-ingestive measure provides valuable output, deeper insights into what drives Food Pleasure, and, importantly, takes us beyond the processes only active during the actual eating event.

Subjective Sensations related to Food as Determinants of Snack Choice.

Comprehending the complexity and determinants of food choices can help understand facets of the growing obesity epidemic. Focusing on consumers' subjective sensations as determinants of food choices can provide essential insights into eating behaviors. We explored subjective sensations linked to appetite, desire, wellbeing and energy. This study aims to 1) quantify subjective temporal sensations, and 2) study the effects of these sensations on snack choice. Two-hundred and fifty-three participants (mean age 20.5) evaluated subjective sensations using a visual analogue scale. The choice of one of six snacks was offered to the participants; choices were recorded as implicit choice measures. The results demonstrated that especially sensory specific desire sensations (Salty, Fatty, Sweet desire) affected, either positively or negatively, snack choice. Furthermore, wellbeing sensations (Overall, Mental, Physical wellbeing) also showed significant effects for snack choice. Health-conscious females chose healthy snacks, and males chose unhealthy snacks. Importantly, this research indicates the relevance of subjective sensations in consumer studies that focus on diverse determinants of food choice. Sensory specific desires and wellbeing sensations were notably shown to be important determinants of snack choice. The contribution of different sensations to food choice is imperative, and helps us to understand aspects of snacking behavior. This could have broader implications concerning public health issues and obesity.

Consumer reflections on post-ingestive sensations. A qualitative approach by means of focus group interviews.

Obesity is a growing problem. Insights into satiety and other post-ingestive sensations may be important in understanding influential factors in our eating behaviour. The purpose of this research study was to explore beyond satiety and gain a better understanding of the umbrella term 'Post-ingestive sensations', this from a consumer point-of-view. In the present study, 'Post-ingestive sensations' are defined as 'the subjective perceptions of the body after eating'. The research aims to explore and understand consumers' reflections on post-ingestive sensations. We analyse results from four focus group interviews consisting of 30 consumers in total varying in gender, age and Body Mass Index (BMI). Data was analysed using thematic analysis of qualitative data. Results include consumers' retrospective reports of post-ingestive sensations which are analysed into four key themes being: 1) Energy sensations, 2) Satiety sensations, 3) Wellbeing, 4) Desires. Within Energy sensations, consumers differentiated between two sub-groups of sensations, namely sensations related to a positive general energy level and sensations related to a negative low energy level. Satiety sensations comprised typical satiety and extreme satiety, each described differently by the consumers. Sensations related to extreme satiety were in general more detectable than typical satiety sensations. Wellbeing was broadly summarised as 'feeling good' and included mainly positive sensations such as sensing pleasure and joy after eating. Desires would typically be for something more or something else than just consumed. The umbrella term 'Post-ingestive sensations' is demonstrated to be multifaceted with numerous aspects seen from the consumer's perspective. Post-ingestive sensations function as important parameters in understanding the full consumer experience, and results could be applied in real eating contexts to study further implications and importance in food choice and eating behaviour.

Consumers' view on determinants to food satisfaction. A qualitative approach.

The objective of this study was to gain a better understanding of the multiple determinants to food satisfaction from a consumer perspective. The study includes two focus groups with a total of 20 consumers varying in gender, age, employment and food interest. The results were divided into sections based on the main themes that arose from analysing the focus groups; i) sensory properties, ii) physical wellbeing, iii) expectations and desires, iv) the food context and v) comparison of the importance of the various determinants to satisfaction. Factors important for food satisfaction appear before as well as during and after intake. Before intake, the important factors are; expectations and desires based on memories about previous food experiences and the context in which the food is perceived. Physical wellbeing was mentioned important for the feeling of satisfaction, included in physical wellbeing is the experience of an appropriate energy level after intake. In general the sensory experience seems to be the primary determinant to satisfaction. The hedonic experience of eating could be enhanced by the social company and knowledge about the food inclusive health value and origin. Findings from the study will prospectively be used to develop a questionnaire. The questionnaire will be applied in case studies to measure factors influential in food satisfaction.