What's cooking, if not meat? Effects of repeated home-use, recipe inspiration and meal context on perception of plant-based meat analogues.

Plant-based meat analogues (PBMA) may help consumers in shifting towards more plant-based diets, but PBMA are not widely used yet, and little is known about their longer-term acceptance. This study investigated whether consumer acceptance of PBMA changed with repeated home-use, and whether providing recipe suggestions in the form of meal boxes could influence PBMA acceptance. To this end, Dutch regular meat eaters (n = 61) prepared, consumed and evaluated two meals (one from a meal box, one self-created) with PBMA (PB mince and PB chicken, counterbalanced across meal types) per week at home for four weeks. As a secondary objective, potential longer-term effects of repeated home-use of PBMA on meat (analogue) consumption habits and attitudes (e.g. motives for choosing PBMA, attitudes toward eating less meat) were assessed in a pre-vs post-intervention survey. Responses were compared with a control group of consumers not participating in the home-use study (n = 179). Results provided no evidence that PBMA liking changed with repeated home-use, nor that the provision of meal boxes increased liking of PBMA. Instead, PBMA liking was strongly influenced by the meal context, which may have overruled potential effects of repeated exposure. Findings from the pre- vs. post-intervention survey suggest that repeated exposure may stimulate longer-term consumption of PBMA, although more seems needed to bring about a structural shift toward a less animal-based consumption pattern. Future research should investigate whether more sophisticated recipes that provide a suitable meal context for PBMA and elevate consumers' meal experiences may improve PBMA acceptance and facilitate the transition toward more sustainable diets.

An Examination of the Associations between Nutritional Composition, Social Jet Lag and Temporal Sleep Variability in Young Adults.

While dietary intake has previously been related to various indices of poor sleep (e.g., short sleep duration, poor sleep quality), to date, few studies have examined chrononutrition from the perspectives of the relationship between dietary intake and social jet lag and temporal sleep variability. Moreover, recently it has been suggested that previous methods of measuring social jet lag have the potential to lead to large overestimations. Together, this precludes a clear understanding of the role of nutritional composition in the pathophysiology of poor sleep, via social jet lag and temporal sleep variability, or vice versa. The aim of the present study was to determine the relationships between nutrient intake and social jet lag (using a revised index, taking account of intention to sleep and sleep onset and offset difficulties), and temporal sleep variability. Using a cross-sectional survey, 657 healthy participants (mean age 26.7 ± 6.1 years), without sleep disorders, were recruited via an online platform and completed measures of weekly dietary intake, social jet lag, temporal sleep variability, stress/sleep reactivity and mood. Results showed limited associations between nutritional composition and social jet lag. However, levels of temporal sleep variability were predicted by consumption of polyunsaturated fats, sodium, chloride and total energy intake. The results suggest further examinations of specific nutrients are warranted in a first step to tailoring interventions to manage diet and temporal variabilities in sleep patterns.

Food-Evoked Emotions and Optimal Portion Sizes of Meat and Vegetables for Men and Women across Five Familiar Dutch Meals: An Online Study.

Portion size manipulation is well known to be effective in increasing vegetable intake in adults, whereas less is known about the effects of portion size manipulation on reducing meat intake. This online study investigated the effects of recommended and regularly consumed portion sizes of vegetables and meat in five familiar Dutch meals. Participants evaluated 60 food pictures of five meals and used a 100 mm VAS to measure expected liking, satiety, food-evoked emotions, and the perceived normal portion size. The results show that both regular and recommended portions scored above 55 on the 100 mm VAS on expected liking and satiety. Similarly, both portion sizes scored high (55-70 on the 100 mm VAS) in positive emotions (i.e., happy, relaxed, and satisfied). Regarding the perceived amount of meat, men consistently preferred larger portions of meat than women. However, the optimal portion sizes of vegetables were similar for men and women. Furthermore, the recommended portion sizes led to positive food-evoked emotions, implying that the effective implementation of portion size strategies for increasing vegetable and limiting meat intake requires a careful, holistic approach focusing on the sensory characteristics of food products as well as the emotions evoked by the total food experience.

Satiating Capacity of Plant-Based Meat in Realistic Meal Contexts at Home.

Plant-based meat substitutes replacing animal meat can potentially support the transition towards more sustainable diets. To enable the required transition, consumer acceptance of plant-based meat is essential. An important aspect of this is the feeling of satiety or being full after eating. This study determined the satiating capacity of both plant-based meat and animal meat in 60 adults under real-life in-home conditions. Participants consumed four fixed ready-to eat meals for lunch at home once per week. Two types of Indian curry with 'chicken' were investigated as well as two types of pasta Bolognese with 'minced meat'. The two 'chicken' dishes and the two 'minced meat' dishes had the same recipe except for a gram-for-gram swap (125 g each) of either animal meat (chicken breast and minced meat) or plant-based (soy) meat. Results showed no difference in the satiating power of an animal meat dish and a plant-based meat dish when these were eaten as part of a full lunch meal at home. In addition, the meals did not result in energy nor macronutrient compensation during the rest of the day after consuming the meals. This occurred despite the caloric differences of the meals as a result of the real-life conditions (i.e., a lower energy content of the pasta with plant-based meat compared to the other meals). We conclude that meals with plant-based meat can be as satiating as meals with animal meat.

Electrodermal activity as an index of food neophobia outside the lab.

Introduction: Understanding how food neophobia affects food experience may help to shift toward sustainable diets. Previous research suggests that individuals with higher food neophobia are more aroused and attentive when observing food-related stimuli. The present study examined whether electrodermal activity (EDA), as index of arousal, relates to food neophobia outside the lab when exposed to a single piece of food. Methods: The EDA of 153 participants was analyzed as part of a larger experiment conducted at a festival. Participants completed the 10-item Food Neophobia Scale. Subsequently, they saw three lids covering three foods: a hotdog labeled as "meat", a hotdog labeled as "100% plant-based", and tofu labeled as "100% plant-based". Participants lifted the lids consecutively and the area-under-the-curve (AUC) of the skin conductance response (SCR) was captured between 20 s before and 20 s after each food reveal. Results: We found a significant positive correlation between food neophobia and AUC of SCR during presentation of the first and second hotdog and a trend for tofu. These correlations remained significant even when only including the SCR data prior to the food reveal (i.e., an anticipatory response). Discussion: The association between food neophobia and EDA indicates that food neophobic individuals are more aroused upon the presentation of food. We show for the first time that the anticipation of being presented with food already increased arousal for food neophobic individuals. These findings also indicate that EDA can be meaningfully determined using wearables outside the lab, in a relatively uncontrolled setting for single-trial analysis.

Models predict change in plasma triglyceride concentrations and long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid proportions in healthy participants after fish oil intervention.

Introduction: Substantial response heterogeneity is commonly seen in dietary intervention trials. In larger datasets, this variability can be exploited to identify predictors, for example genetic and/or phenotypic baseline characteristics, associated with response in an outcome of interest. Objective: Using data from a placebo-controlled crossover study (the FINGEN study), supplementing with two doses of long chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC n-3 PUFAs), the primary goal of this analysis was to develop models to predict change in concentrations of plasma triglycerides (TG), and in the plasma phosphatidylcholine (PC) LC n-3 PUFAs eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) + docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), after fish oil (FO) supplementation. A secondary goal was to establish if clustering of data prior to FO supplementation would lead to identification of groups of participants who responded differentially. Methods: To generate models for the outcomes of interest, variable selection methods (forward and backward stepwise selection, LASSO and the Boruta algorithm) were applied to identify suitable predictors. The final model was chosen based on the lowest validation set root mean squared error (RMSE) after applying each method across multiple imputed datasets. Unsupervised clustering of data prior to FO supplementation was implemented using k-medoids and hierarchical clustering, with cluster membership compared with changes in plasma TG and plasma PC EPA + DHA. Results: Models for predicting response showed a greater TG-lowering after 1.8 g/day EPA + DHA with lower pre-intervention levels of plasma insulin, LDL cholesterol, C20:3n-6 and saturated fat consumption, but higher pre-intervention levels of plasma TG, and serum IL-10 and VCAM-1. Models also showed greater increases in plasma PC EPA + DHA with age and female sex. There were no statistically significant differences in PC EPA + DHA and TG responses between baseline clusters. Conclusion: Our models established new predictors of response in TG (plasma insulin, LDL cholesterol, C20:3n-6, saturated fat consumption, TG, IL-10 and VCAM-1) and in PC EPA + DHA (age and sex) upon intervention with fish oil. We demonstrate how application of statistical methods can provide new insights for precision nutrition, by predicting participants who are most likely to respond beneficially to nutritional interventions.

The perception of 8- to 10-year-old Dutch children towards plant-based meat analogues.

Consumption of meat-based food products can be related to diverse health problems, while the production of meat-based food products negatively impacts the environment. A way to reduce meat production and consumption is to replace meat-based food products by meat substitutes. This would be especially effective when done by consumers who are currently eating meat. Families could play an important role in the transition from regular meat consumption towards consumption of meat substitutes. Food preferences and opinions of the children are of great influence on parents' food choice for the main meals. However, little is yet known about the perception of children regarding meat substitutes. Therefore, this study examined the perception of 8- to 10-year-old non-vegetarian Dutch children towards plant-based meat analogues. In this study, meat analogues are defined as specific meat substitutes, resembling regular meat. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 34 children. It was found that children are in general open to trying meat analogues, while playing a pivotal role in the household by requesting meat analogues for dinner. Results suggest that meat analogues' product attributes should resemble regular meat to address the preference of children. Although the packaging should resemble the packaging of regular meat, it should also be distinguishable from regular meat by clear communication about the vegetarian content. In addition, communication about animal welfare, healthiness and environmental impact related to the meat analogues can activate positive perception around meat analogues. Stressing these aspects in product development and communication could positively influence the consumption of meat analogues among non-vegetarian children.

Exploring impact on eating behaviour, exercise and well-being during COVID-19 restrictions in the Netherlands.

Many studies address the effect of the COVID-19 restrictions on food consumption and health, focusing on one or two measurements. Whether or not any effects are permanent or change over a longer period of restrictions has not been assessed in such studies. This study presented a survey containing questions on food consumption, exercise and self-assessed physical and mental health, repeatedly for six times over a 20-week period (July to November 2020) to a representative sample of 258 Dutch consumers. The majority of consumers reported no change in food consumption compared to before the COVID-19 restrictions, two smaller groups report a change to a more, or a less, healthy choice. This trend appears stable over the course of the measurements. The 'healthy changers' seem to couple a healthy and more diverse diet to healthy exercise habits, in contrast to the 'unhealthy changers'. No change was observed in self-assessed physical health over the measurements. Overall a decline in time spent exercising showed, as well as a decline in self-assessed mental health. Clearly a lockdown situation affects food choice, exercise habits and (self-assessed) mental health. The fact that habits are able to suddenly change, for better or for worse, and that a decrease in mental health was reported, suggests that such insights need to be further explored to help individual consumers retain a healthy diet and lifestyle, and governments devise effective public health recommendations.

Situating desire: Situational cues affect desire for food through eating simulations.

How do situations influence food desire? Although eating typically occurs in rich background situations, research on food desire often focuses on the properties of foods and consumers, rather than on the situations in which eating takes place. Here, we take a grounded cognition perspective and suggest that a situation that is congruent with consuming a food increases simulations of eating it, which, in turn, affect desire, and the expected and actual liking of the food. We tested this idea in four pre-registered experiments (N = 524). Participants processed an image of a food presented in a congruent situation, an incongruent situation, or no background situation. Compared to the incongruent situation, the congruent situation increased expected liking of the food and desire, and this was partially or fully mediated by eating simulations. The congruent situation also increased salivation, a physiological indicator of preparing to eat. However, there was only weak and indirect evidence for congruence effects on actual liking of the food when tasted. These findings show that situational cues can affect desire for food through eating simulations. Thus, background situations play an important but understudied role in human food desires. We address implications for research using food images, and for applications to promote healthy and sustainable eating behaviour.

Colouring perception: Package colour cues affect neural responses to sweet dairy drinks in reward and inhibition related regions.

Extrinsic product cues such as package colour may change product perception and perceived reward value during product evaluation. Healthier foods (i.e., 'light', sugar- or fat-reduced) often have different packages than regular products, e.g., they may be less vibrantly coloured. People vary in their degree of health-interest and self-control ability and may be affected differently by package colour. This study assesses the extent to which package colour and participant characteristics interact and influence product perception and brain responses. Thirty-four healthy females performed a functional MRI task in which they viewed four differently coloured packages (regular vs. healthier; differing in brightness and saturation levels) with or without simultaneously tasting a either a regular or a healthier calorie-reduced drink. Results indicate main effects of package and taste and a package*taste interaction effect. Compared to healthier packages viewing regular packages enhanced activation in region implicated in inhibitory control (inferior frontal gyrus) and a reward-related region (striatum), the latter even more so as participants' health interest increased (r = 0.43, p = 0.01). Incongruent package-taste combinations decreased activation in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC, a region implicated in reward representation) compared to congruent combinations. Tasting the healthier compared to regular product enhanced activation in the middle and superior frontal gyrus, which are implicated in inhibitory control, as well as the striatum and OFC, suggesting a cognitively driven preference for the healthier product. In conclusion, this paper provides evidence for the conditions under which package colour and taste properties modulate neural correlates related to reward and inhibition. Individual differences in health-interest and impulsivity influence package- and taste-related neural correlates and thus underscore the importance of taking participant characteristics into account in food research.

Making salt-reduced products more appealing to consumers: impact of front-of-pack messages on liking and table salt use over time.

OBJECTIVE: The current study investigated the impact of different front-of-pack messages on liking, salt perception and table salt use of salt-reduced soups over repeated consumption. DESIGN: In a between-subjects design, participants consumed a chicken noodle soup five times over 3 weeks. Participants were assigned to one of five experimental conditions and were categorized into three 'Interest in Salt Reduction' groups based on their self-reported interest in salt reduction. They consumed a regular-salt soup or a 30 % salt-reduced soup, either with or without a front-of-pack message (nutritional, sensory or social based). Liking, salt perception and table salt use were measured at each consumption. SETTING: Central location test. SUBJECTS: British consumers (n 493) aged 24-65 years. RESULTS: The soups remained stable in liking over repeated consumption, with no significant differences between the experimental conditions. However, liking did differ among the different Interest in Salt Reduction groups: the 'not aware, no action' group liked salt-reduced soups with a nutritional message the most, whereas the 'aware and action' group liked salt-reduced soups with a social message the most. There was no change in the amount of table salt added as people got more familiar with the salt-reduced soups, suggesting a strong role for habit in table salt use. CONCLUSIONS: It mattered whether consumers were thinking about reducing their salt intake or not: a communication message tailored to a country's interest in reducing salt is recommended to motivate consumers to lower their salt intake.

Knowing too much: Knowledge of energy content prevents liking change through flavour-nutrient associations.

Associations between flavours and the consequences of ingestion can lead to changes in flavour liking depending on nutrient content, an example of flavour-nutrient learning (FNL). Expectations about the consequences of ingestion can be modified by information at the point of ingestion, such as nutritional labelling. What is unknown is the extent to which these label-based expectations modify FNL. Since nutrient information can alter expectations about how filling a product would be, we hypothesised that labels predicting higher energy (HE) content would enhance satiety and so promote more rapid flavour learning. To test this, participants consumed either a lower energy (LE: 164 kcal) or HE (330 kcal) yoghurt breakfast on four separate days, either with no product label or with labels displaying either the actual energy content (Congruent label) or inaccurate energy (Incongruent label). Participants rated liking on all four days: on Days 1 and 4, they could also consume as much as they liked, but consumed a fixed amount (300 g) on Days 2 and 3. Both liking and intake increased with exposure in the HE, and decreased in the LE, condition when unlabelled in line with FNL. In contrast, no significant changes were seen in either the Congruent or Incongruent label conditions. Contrary to predictions, these data suggest that FNL occurs when there is an absence of explicit expectations of actual nutrient content, with both accurate and inaccurate information on nutrient content disrupting learning.

I feel bad and look worse than you: Social comparisons moderate the effect of mood on face health judgement.

Mood can bias the judgements people make about themselves and how people compare themselves to others. However, it is not yet clear whether mood also affects appearance-based self-evaluations and social comparisons. Given the importance of perceived health status for well-being, we investigated the effect of mood on self-image and social comparisons of healthiness during two versions of a face health judgement task. Thirty participants judged how they felt compared to healthy and unhealthy looking versions of their own (self version) and a stranger's face (stranger version), after a positive, negative and neutral mood induction. The effect of mood was dependent on self/stranger task order. Although mood did not affect face health judgement for participants who initially judged themselves against their own face, it did affect face health judgement for participants who initially judged themselves in comparison to a stranger's face. After the positive and negative mood inductions, these participants judged themselves as equivalent to healthier/unhealthier looking versions of their own and stranger's faces, respectively. Thus, social comparisons of facial healthiness could provide a perceptual measure of state well-being.

Good vibrations: Global processing can increase the pleasantness of touch.

Visual-tactile carry-over effects of global/local processing (attention to the whole, versus the details) have been reported under active touch conditions. We investigated whether carry-over effects of global/local processing also occur for passive touch and whether global/local processing has differential effects on affective and discriminative aspects of touch. Participants completed two tactile tasks involving pleasantness rating and discrimination of a set of tactile vibrations before and after completing a version of the Navon task that encouraged a focus on the global (n = 30), local (n = 30), or both (n = 30) features of a series of visual stimuli. In line with previous research suggesting a link between global processing and positive emotion, global processing increased pleasantness ratings of high-frequency (but not low-frequency) tactile vibrations. Local processing did not improve the ability to discriminate between vibrations of different frequencies, however. There was some evidence of a tactile-visual carry-over effect; prior local processing of tactile vibrations reduced global precedence during the Navon task in the control group. We have shown carry-over effects of global versus local processing on passive touch perception. These findings provide further evidence suggesting that a common perceptual mechanism determines processing level across modalities and show for the first time that prior global processing affects the pleasantness of touch.

Feeling bad and looking worse: negative affect is associated with reduced perceptions of face-healthiness.

Some people perceive themselves to look more, or less attractive than they are in reality. We investigated the role of emotions in enhancement and derogation effects; specifically, whether the propensity to experience positive and negative emotions affects how healthy we perceive our own face to look and how we judge ourselves against others. A psychophysical method was used to measure healthiness of self-image and social comparisons of healthiness. Participants who self-reported high positive (N = 20) or negative affectivity (N = 20) judged themselves against healthy (red-tinged) and unhealthy looking (green-tinged) versions of their own and stranger's faces. An adaptive staircase procedure was used to measure perceptual thresholds. Participants high in positive affectivity were un-biased in their face health judgement. Participants high in negative affectivity on the other hand, judged themselves as equivalent to less healthy looking versions of their own face and a stranger's face. Affective traits modulated self-image and social comparisons of healthiness. Face health judgement was also related to physical symptom perception and self-esteem; high physical symptom reports were associated a less healthy self-image and high self-reported (but not implicit) self-esteem was associated with more favourable social comparisons of healthiness. Subject to further validation, our novel face health judgement task could have utility as a perceptual measure of well-being. We are currently investigating whether face health judgement is sensitive to laboratory manipulations of mood.

Memory processes in the development of reduced-salt foods.

Acceptance of a reduced-salt food is likely to be influenced by a mismatch between the sensory characteristics of a reformulated product and a memory for a previously-encountered formulation. In two initial pilot studies we established the reliability of a new measure of memory for saltiness, based on a method of constant stimuli. We then used this technique to explore the effects of different patterns of repeated exposure on memory for the taste of a reduced-salt soup. Participants (N = 135) were assigned to one of four exposure patterns: (1) reduced-salt, (2) no salt reduction, i.e. regular-salt, (3) reduced- and regular-salt, in an alternating pattern, and (4) gradually declining salt concentration. In the final session, all participants received an identical reduced-salt soup. Memory for the saltiness of this sample was assessed, together with its expected liking. Our results indicate that different interactions with the test soup had little effect on taste memory. Nevertheless, (1) participants remembered the final exposure soup as saltier than the reduced-salt formulation that they had received and (2) remembered salt concentrations correlated with individual ideal salt concentrations. These findings are consistent with contemporary models of reconstructive memory and they illustrate the importance of understanding 'memory for saltiness' in the acceptance of reduced-salt formulations.

Effects of salt labelling and repeated in-home consumption on long-term liking of reduced-salt soups.

OBJECTIVE: The present study investigated the impact of salt labelling and repeated in-home consumption on liking of reduced-salt soups. DESIGN: Participants received a chicken noodle soup to be consumed twice weekly at home for 5 weeks. Three soups were included: (i) regular-salt soup as available on the market; (ii) 22 %-reduced-salt soup; and (iii) 32 %-reduced-salt soup. The soups were tasted blind or with the label: 'same great taste, less salt and more herbs'. In total, there were six experimental groups. All groups received the same soup over the whole period. Desire and liking were measured at each time of consumption. SETTING: In-home and central location test. SUBJECTS: French consumers (n 646). RESULTS: There was no significant difference in liking between the three soups when consumed at home, whereas the reduced-salt soups were less liked than the regular-salt soup in the central location test. Labelling did not boost liking scores, which is probably explained by the fact that all soups were similarly liked when eaten at home. CONCLUSIONS: The surprising results of the present study in France suggest that a salt reduction of up to 32 % in a chicken noodle soup did not affect long-term liking score as assessed by consumers at home. In addition, initial liking measured at the central location was not predictive of liking after repeated in-home consumption. How far we can go in reducing salt in other products without compromising product quality, and how this impacts consumers' choice behaviour and in turn table salt use at home, are still unanswered questions.

Understanding consumer decisions using behavioral economics.

Consumers make many decisions in everyday life involving finances, food, and health. It is known from behavioral economics research that people are often driven by short-term gratification, that is, people tend to choose the immediate, albeit smaller reward. But choosing the delayed reward, that is, delaying the gratification, can actually be beneficial. How can we motivate consumers to resist the "now" and invest in their future, leading to sustainable or healthy habits? We review recent developments from behavioral and neuroimaging studies that are relevant for understanding consumer decisions. Further, we present results from our field research that examined whether we can increase the perceived value of a (delayed) environmental benefit using tailored communication, that is, change the way it is framed. More specifically, we investigated whether we can boost the value of an abstract, long-term "green" claim of a product by expressing it as a concrete, short-term benefit. This is a new application area for behavioral economics.

Evidence for the role of cognitive resources in flavour-flavour evaluative conditioning.

One way that dis/likes are formed is through evaluative conditioning (EC). In two experiments we investigated the role of cognitive resources in flavour-flavour conditioning. Both experiments employed an EC procedure in which three novel flavoured conditioned stimuli (CSs) were consumed. One was consumed with a pleasant unconditioned stimulus (US; CS+ sugar), one with an aversive US (CS+ saline), and a third with plain water (CS-). Half of participants in each experiment performed a cognitive load task during conditioning. We measured EC using self-reported measures of liking (Experiments 1 and 2) and an indirect measure of liking: drink pick-up latency (Experiment 2). In both experiments, differential EC was observed in the no cognitive load condition but not in the cognitive load condition. This pattern of results was observed in self-reported measures of liking as well as in the drink pick-up latency data. Results from both experiments show that EC occurs only when there are sufficient cognitive resources available. The fact that this was observed using both self-reported and indirect measures suggests that insufficient cognitive resources affect learning itself rather than merely obstructing reporting.

Delay discounting as emotional processing: an electrophysiological study.

Both theoretical models and functional imaging studies implicate the involvement of emotions within the delay discounting process. However, defining this role has been difficult to establish with neuroimaging techniques given the automaticity of emotional responses. To address this, the current study examined electrophysiological correlates involved in the detection and evaluation of immediate and delayed monetary outcomes. Our results showed that modulation of both early and later ERP components previously associated with affective stimuli processing are sensitive to the signalling of delayed rewards. Together with behavioural reaction times that favoured immediacy, we demonstrated, for the first time, that time delays modify the incentive value of monetary rewards via mechanisms of emotional bias and selective visual attention. Furthermore, our data are consistent with the hypothesis that delayed and thus intangible rewards are perceived less saliently, and rely on emotion as a common currency within decision making. This study provides a new approach to delay discounting and highlights a potential novel route through which delay discounting may be investigated.