An exploratory analysis of the factors that influence food choice among young women

Food sales represent a significant proportion of hospitality industry income; however, little research has been conducted into the factors that influence food purchasing behaviour. This study employed a sequential mixed method research design to identify the factors that influence food choice among 18-30-year-old females. The study is important because this age group has considerable spending power and has been found to have different consumption priorities to their male counterparts. While confirming the importance of previous studies, this study found that physical health, time, marketing, price, and the quality of food are major factors of influence in the purchasing and consumption decision.

Parents' food choice motives and their associations with children's food preferences.

The objective was to investigate parents' motives for selecting foods for their children and the associations between these motives and children's food preferences.

Parents' food choice motives and their associations with children's food preferences

Objective The objective was to investigate parents' motives for selecting foods for their children and the associations between these motives and children's food preferences. Design Cross-sectional survey. A modified version of the Food Choice Questionnaire was used to assess parents' food choice motives. Parents also reported children's liking/disliking of 176 food and beverage items on 5-point Likert scales. Patterns of food choice motives were examined with exploratory principal component analysis. Associations between motives and children's food preferences were assessed with linear regression while one-way and two-way ANOVA were used to test for sociodemographic differences. Setting Two Australian cities. Subjects Parents (n 371) of 2-5-year-old children. Results Health, nutrition and taste were key motivators for parents, whereas price, political concerns and advertising were among the motives considered least important. The more parents' food choice for their children was driven by what their children wanted, the less children liked vegetables (β =-0·27, P<0·01), fruit (β=-0·19, P<0·01) and cereals (β=-0·28, P<0·01) and the higher the number of untried foods (r=0·17, P<0·01). The reverse was found for parents' focus on natural/ethical motives (vegetables β=0·17, P<0·01; fruit β=0·17, P<0·01; cereals β=0·14, P=0·01). Health and nutrition motives bordered on statistical significance as predictors of children's fruit and vegetable preferences. Conclusions Although parents appear well intentioned in their motives for selecting children's foods, there are gaps to be addressed in the nature of such motives (e.g. selecting foods in line with the child's desires) or the translation of health motives into healthy food choices.

Repeated unrewarded scent exposure influences the food choice of stingless bee foragers, Melipona scutellaris

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Nutrients affecting food choice by the pest subterranean termite Coptotermes gestroi (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Expanded food choice as a possible factor in the evolution of sociality of Vespidae (Hymenoptera)

A recent theory suggests that economic considerations are more important than genetic ones in the emergence and maintenance of social behavior. Evolution of social behavior in wasps, thus, could be based on the development of worker castes, which increase the efficiency of brood care and energy use of the colony. If so, social wasps should collect a larger range of prey, favoring polyethism, as social behavior should increase the adaptive value of social species among wasps by increasing the range of prey accessible. We explored the literature and showed that the Eumeninae, which are mostly solitary, draw prey from significantly fewer orders of arthropods than wasps in the subfamily Vespinae and Polistinae, which are mainly social, supporting the hypothesis that social behavior may have emerged as a more efficient way to feed and care for the young by opening a wider range of food sources, increasing the amount of food and quality of care provided to the young. Two alternative explanations of this data are also discussed.

A common mechanism underlying food choice and social decisions

People make numerous decisions every day including perceptual decisions such as walking through a crowd, decisions over primary rewards such as what to eat, and social decisions that require balancing own and others’ benefits. The unifying principles behind choices in various domains are, however, still not well understood. Mathematical models that describe choice behavior in specific contexts have provided important insights into the computations that may underlie decision making in the brain. However, a critical and largely unanswered question is whether these models generalize from one choice context to another. Here we show that a model adapted from the perceptual decision-making domain and estimated on choices over food rewards accurately predicts choices and reaction times in four independent sets of subjects making social decisions. The robustness of the model across domains provides behavioral evidence for a common decision-making process in perceptual, primary reward, and social decision making.

Menu labeling and food choice: A systematic review of the literature concerning the effects of menu labeling on consumer food choices

Objective: To review published literature on the impact of restaurant menu labeling on consumer food choices.^ Method: To examine all relevant studies published on the topic from 2002 to 2012.^ Results: Sixteen studies were identified as relevant and suitable for review. These studies comprised of one systematic review, one health impact assessment, and fourteen research studies conducted at restaurants, cafeterias, and laboratories. Three of ten studies conducted at restaurants and cafeterias and two of four studies conducted at laboratories found positive effects of menu labeling on consumer food choices. Conversely, the systematic review identified for this review found that five out of six studies resulted in weakly positive effects. The health impact assessment estimated positive effects; however, the results of this assessment must be cautiously interpreted since the authors used simulated data.^ Conclusion: Overall, there is insufficient evidence to provide support for the majority of the types of menu labels identified in this review on consumer food choice.^

Food choice in Siganus fuscescens: influence of macrophyte nutrient content and availability

Using multiple-choice feeding experiments, the selection of six species of macrophytes by the herbivorous rabbitfish Siganus fuscescens was examined. The rabbitfish showed distinct food choice in the laboratory; however, selection of macrophytes by S. fuscescens was not related to their absolute nutrient content (nitrogen, carbon, energy and ash free dry mass). Nutrient assimilation estimates showed that the macrophytes which were most preferred were those that S. fuscescens assimilated best. In S. fuscescens, the macrophytes that were preferred passed through the gut significantly faster than the less preferred species. Gut transit time had a significant effect on the absolute value of a food item in terms of net nutrient gain per unit time. This study showed that food value could be inferred from the absolute nutrient content of the macrophytes. Thus both the ability to assimilate nutrients as well as the absolute nutrient content of macrophytes must be quantified when assessing food value. (C) 2004 The Fisheries society of the British Isles.

The effect of genetically-mediated taste acuity for 6-N-propylthiouracil (PROP) on food choice and diet-related disease

Taste acuity for the bitter taste of 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) is a heritable trait. Some individuals perceive concentrated levels of PROP to taste extremely bitter (supertasters) or moderately bitter (medium tasters), whereas others detect only a mild taste or none at all (non-tasters). Heightened PROP acuity has been reported to be associated with greater acuity for a variety of compounds found in ordinary foods, although there are some inconsistent findings. The extent to which these compounds are perceived may affect food likes/dislikes and dietary intake. The majority of studies have tended to measure food likes and intake using questionnaires or laboratory preparations of a single taste quality. The present study used food diaries and sensory responses to real foods to be better able to generalise to real eating situations. There was no substantial evidence that genetically mediated taste acuity for PROP had a direct influence on food likes/dislikes or intake, although there was evidence that dietary restraint could have influenced these findings among the female samples. However; investigation of PROP tasting among individuals with coronary heart disease (CHD) and a control group suggested that PROP acuity could function as a genetic taste marker for heart disease and potentially other diet-related conditions. CHD was associated with decreased PROP acuity among men. This is consistent with the findings that decreased PROP acuity tended to be associated with increased likelihood to be a smoker and higher body mass index. It is concluded that there is not a simple and direct relationship between PROP tasting ability and food choice. An interaction between PROP acuity and other mediating factors may be involved in a more complex model of food choice. The evidence that PROP taste acuity may function as a genetic taste marker for coronary heart disease could have wide implications for understanding the aetiology, and ultimately the prevention, of diet-related disease.

The food choice at work study: effectiveness of complex workplace dietary interventions on dietary behaviours and diet-related disease risk - study protocol for a clustered controlled trial

Background: Dietary behaviour interventions have the potential to reduce diet-related disease. Ample opportunity exists to implement these interventions in the workplace. The overall aim is to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of complex dietary interventions focused on environmental dietary modification alone or in combination with nutrition education in large manufacturing workplace settings. Methods/design: A clustered controlled trial involving four large multinational manufacturing workplaces in Cork will be conducted. The complex intervention design has been developed using the Medical Research Council's framework and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines and will be reported using the TREND statement for the transparent reporting of evaluations with non-randomized designs. It will draw on a soft paternalistic 'nudge' theoretical perspective. It will draw on a soft paternalistic "nudge" theoretical perspective. Nutrition education will include three elements: group presentations, individual nutrition consultations and detailed nutrition information. Environmental dietary modification will consist of five elements: (a) restriction of fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt, (b) increase in fibre, fruit and vegetables, (c) price discounts for whole fresh fruit, (d) strategic positioning of healthier alternatives and (e) portion size control. No intervention will be offered in workplace A (control). Workplace B will receive nutrition education. Workplace C will receive nutrition education and environmental dietary modification. Workplace D will receive environmental dietary modification alone. A total of 448 participants aged 18 to 64 years will be selected randomly. All permanent, full-time employees, purchasing at least one main meal in the workplace daily, will be eligible. Changes in dietary behaviours, nutrition knowledge, health status with measurements obtained at baseline and at intervals of 3 to 4 months, 7 to 9 months and 13 to 16 months will be recorded. A process evaluation and cost-effectiveness economic evaluation will be undertaken. Discussion: A 'Food Choice at Work' toolbox (concise teaching kit to replicate the intervention) will be developed to inform and guide future researchers, workplace stakeholders, policy makers and the food industry. Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials, ISRCTN35108237.