Table for two: The effects of familiarity, sex and gender on food choice in imaginary dining scenarios.

INTRODUCTION: Existing research suggests that eating behaviours may be used to modify self-presentation and that process may be different for women compared to men. We aimed to assess how people make different food choices in situations of varying self-presentation demand. METHOD: Via an online survey, eligible participants (n = 216; 64% female: not on a restrictive diet or severely obese/underweight) were allocated to one of four experimental conditions manipulating the familiarity (close friend v acquaintance) and sex of an eating companion (same v opposite sex). All participants were asked to imagine they were eating out with one of the manipulated companions, and were presented with a menu and asked to order items. Menu choices were used to calculate the total kilojoules ordered, percentage of kilojoules from fats and number of low-fat options selected. To assess differences in impression management, participants completed the Paulhus Deception scale. RESULTS: Despite successful manipulation checks, analyses of covariance (controlling for levels of hunger) revealed no main or interaction effects for familiarity and sex composition for any of the menu choice outcomes assessed. Impression management scores differed for sex composition (main effect only) with participants who imagined dining with someone of the same gender (M = 2.05, SE = 0.90) having higher impression management scores than those imagining dining with an opposite sex companion (M = 1.27, SE = 0.83). CONCLUSION: We found preliminary support that gender composition could alter impression management demands but this did not translate to differences in food choice.

Breaking habits with mindful snacking? An email-based intervention targeting unwanted snacking habits in an Australian sample.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the potential for an email-based, mindful eating exercise to improve unwanted snacking habits. METHOD: Australian participants (N = 78, 86% female) with unwanted snacking habits engaged in a mindful eating email-based intervention, over a practice period of two weeks. All measures were completed using an online survey. Habit strength was measured using the Self-Report Habit Index (SHRI). Mindful eating was measured using the Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ) and self-compassion was measured using the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS). Participants were emailed a mindful eating exercise and asked to make action plans to practice it. Reminders to perform the task were sent via email after one week. After two weeks, the MEQ, SCS and SHRI were readministered. RESULTS: Habit strength significantly increased over the two-week period and self-compassion significantly decreased. The amount of practice reported was not associated with these changes, but self-reported effort expended during practice sessions was partially associated. DISCUSSION: The intervention resulted in increased habit strength; potential mechanisms underlying these changes are discussed. Decreased self-compassion may be linked to both the electronic delivery of the intervention and the nature of the mindful eating task.

A mixed-methods investigation of psychological factors relevant to weight maintenance.

This study investigated perceptions of and engagement with the concepts of planning and problem-solving, within a weight management sample. A total of 53 participants (62% female, 20-74 years old) completed a semi-structured interview and quantitative measures after a 16-week weight maintenance period. Preliminary weight maintainers (who had maintained losses of, at least 10% of their original weight) were compared with heavier-than-baseline participants (who had re-gained more weight than was originally lost). The maintainers exhibited stronger problem-solving skills ( p < .05). The heavier-than-baseline participants tended towards non-rational problem-solving styles. Qualitatively, the maintainers described more planning events and were more accepting of mistakes than the heavier-than-baseline participants. Implications are discussed.