Which messages about healthy and sustainable eating resonate best with consumers with low socio-economic status?

Consumers with low socioeconomic status (SES) eat less healthy and sustainable diets than consumers with higher status. This is attributed, at least in part, to inequalities in health communication. An online survey with 134 socioeconomically disadvantaged consumers in Italy was conducted to test the effectiveness of tailor-made communication material (infographics) about healthy and sustainable eating (HSE). Participants were recruited at two social supermarkets by a social service organisation as well as via a crowdsourcing platform. Participants found information about HSE delivered through infographics moderately effective in increasing motivation, capability, and opportunity for HSE, and moderately useful and likely to impact their behaviour. Certain messages were more effective than others for native consumers, while migrants showed more indifferent responses to the various messages and manifested lower motivation to shift towards HSE, limited access to and seeking of nutrition-related information, and lower trust in information sources. Selecting which messages to deliver strategically, while also considering differences between segments of the target audience and their preferred sources and channels for communication, is promising; yet, structural changes related to food's affordability and availability are also needed to facilitate an effective communication.

The effect of a brief mindfulness intervention on perception of bodily signals of satiation and hunger.

An increasing number of studies investigate the effects of mindfulness on food intake and weight outcomes, while the underlying mechanisms by which mindfulness exerts its effects have received less attention. We conducted two pre-registered studies to shed light on the frequently proposed yet largely understudied hypothesis that mindfulness improves awareness of bodily signals of satiation and hunger. We assessed the ability to perceive the onset of bodily signals of satiation with the two-step water load test (Study 1) and the ability to perceive the onset of bodily signals of hunger with the preload test (Study 2). A brief mindfulness exercise (body scan) did not impact the perception of satiation but improved the ability to perceive bodily signals of hunger. After the consumption of a standardized preload, participants in the two experimental conditions felt equally satiated; nevertheless, those in the mindfulness condition perceived the onset of hunger 18min earlier than those in the control condition and this effect persisted also in the presence of control variables. These findings together suggest that even a single and short mindfulness exercise can improve perception of hunger signals substantially, while more intensive mindfulness training may be needed to impact perception of satiation signals.

Internally regulated eating style: a comprehensive theoretical framework.

Internally regulated eating style, the eating style that is driven by internal bodily sensations of hunger and satiation, is a concept that has received increasing attention in the literature and health practice over the last decades. The various attempts that have been made so far to conceptualise internally regulated eating have taken place independently of one another, and each sheds light on only parts of the total picture of what defines internally regulated eating. This has resulted in a literature that is rather fragmented. More importantly, it is not yet clear which are the characteristics that comprise this eating style. In this paper, we identify and describe the full spectrum of these characteristics, namely, sensitivity to internal hunger and satiation signals, self-efficacy in using internal hunger and satiation signals, self-trusting attitude for the regulation of eating, relaxed relationship with food and tendency to savour the food while eating. With this research, we introduce a common language to the field and we present a new theoretical framework that does justice not just to the full breadth of characteristics that are necessary for the internally regulated eating style but also to the associations between them and the potential mechanisms by which they contribute to this eating style.

Development and validation of the Multidimensional Internally Regulated Eating Scale (MIRES).

In this paper, we describe the systematic development and validation of the Multidimensional Internally Regulated Eating Scale (MIRES), a new self-report instrument that quantifies the individual-difference characteristics that together shape the inclination towards eating in response to internal bodily sensations of hunger and satiation (i.e., internally regulated eating style). MIRES is a 21-item scale consisting of seven subscales, which have high internal consistency and adequate to high two-week temporal stability. The MIRES model, as tested in community samples from the UK and US, had a very good fit to the data both at the level of individual subscales, but also as a higher-order formative model. High and significant correlations with measures of intuitive eating and eating competence lent support to the convergent validity of MIRES, while its incremental validity in relation to these measures was also upheld. MIRES as a formative construct, as well as all individual subscales, correlated negatively with eating disorder symptomatology and weight-related measures (e.g., BMI, weight cycling) and positively with adaptive behavioral and psychological outcomes (e.g., proactive coping, body appreciation, life satisfaction), supporting the criterion validity of the scale. This endeavor has resulted in a reliable and valid instrument to be used for the thorough assessment of the features that synthesize the profile of those who tend to regulate their eating internally.

The pack size effect: Influence on consumer perceptions of portion sizes.

Larger portions as well as larger packs can lead to larger prospective consumption estimates, larger servings and increased consumption, described as 'portion-size effects' and 'pack size effects'. Although related, the effects of pack sizes on portion estimates have received less attention. While it is not possible to generalize consumer behaviour across cultures, external cues taken from pack size may affect us all. We thus examined whether pack sizes influence portion size estimates across cultures, leading to a general 'pack size effect'. We compared portion size estimates based on digital presentations of different product pack sizes of solid and liquid products. The study with 13,177 participants across six European countries consisted of three parts. Parts 1 and 2 asked participants to indicate the number of portions present in a combined photographic and text-based description of different pack sizes. The estimated portion size was calculated as the quotient of the content weight or volume of the food presented and the number of stated portions. In Part 3, participants stated the number of food items that make up a portion when presented with packs of food containing either a small or a large number of items. The estimated portion size was calculated as the item weight times the item number. For all three parts and across all countries, we found that participants' portion estimates were based on larger portions for larger packs compared to smaller packs (Part 1 and 2) as well as more items to make up a portion (Part 3); hence, portions were stated to be larger in all cases. Considering that the larger estimated portions are likely to be consumed, there are implications for energy intake and weight status.

How does thinking in Black and White terms relate to eating behavior and weight regain?

This study explores the role of dichotomous thinking on eating behavior and its association with restraint eating and weight regain in a wide range of people. In a web-based survey with 241 adults, dichotomous thinking and behavioral outcomes related to eating (restraint eating, weight regain, body mass index, dieting) were assessed. Results showed that eating-specific dichotomous thinking (dichotomous beliefs about food and eating) mediates the association between restraint eating and weight regain. We conclude that holding dichotomous beliefs about food and eating may be linked to a rigid dietary restraint, which in turn impedes people's ability to maintain a healthy weight.

Food choice: the battle between package, taste and consumption situation.

The present study compared how intrinsic (sensory) and extrinsic (packaging) product properties influence actual food choice in combination with the concept of product appropriateness in a specific consumption context. Food choice of seven test products was measured in three breakfast sessions within a simulated cafeteria setting with subsequent product consumption. Test products were five breakfast drinks and two dessert products considered as inappropriate for breakfast. One hundred and three participants took part in a blind taste session, after which they chose one out of the seven foods to consume for breakfast. In a second session (familiar package session), the same participants based their choice on the package of the seven foods they tasted in the first session. An additional group of 65 participants took part in a third naïve package session, where they chose just on the basis of package without being previously exposed to the foods. Results showed that food choices in the naïve package session were guided by the package that labelled the products as "breakfast product". Food choices in the blind session were strongly correlated (r = 0.8) with the liking of the products. Food choice in the "familiar package session" lay between the blind and naïve package session. It is concluded that food choice in a simulated cafeteria setting is guided by extrinsic (package) as well as intrinsic (sensory) properties and both can act as a cue for product appropriateness given a specific consumption context. Depending on the salience of either intrinsic or extrinsic properties during the choice moment their impact on choice is stronger.