Ugly food, not eat: the eating intention of emotional eater for different esthetic food

Chenjing Wu1, Xiaoling Liang1, Kaili Zhao1, Hongyan Zhu1, Chuangbing Huang1, Siyue Zhang1, Fuqun Liang1, Xianyou He1
1Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China

Tóm tắt

Emotional eaters eat to relieve their emotions. However, food also contains esthetic information. People generally perceive ugly food as unhealthy and unpalatable. Does the esthetic information of food influence an emotional eater’s desire for food in a negative emotional state? In particular, do they have the same lower eating intentions for low esthetic food as non-emotional eaters? Based on these questions, the present study examined whether the esthetic value of food influences emotional eaters’ desires for food. The experiment used a 2 (eating type: emotional eating vs. non-emotional eating) × 2 (food style: high esthetic vs. low esthetic) mixed experimental design. We measured the emotional and non-emotional eaters’ eating intentions for different esthetic foods when experiencing negative emotions. The results showed that emotional eaters have higher intention to eat high esthetic foods. However, they did not have a high eating intention for all foods, and their eating intention did not differ from that of non-emotional eaters when faced with low esthetic food. In conclusion, food esthetic value can affect individual eating intentions. Even for emotional eaters who are in a negative mood, they also did not have a higher eating intention for low esthetic food compared with no-emotional eater. Level II: controlled trial without randomization.

Tài liệu tham khảo

Nolan LJ, Geliebter A (2012) Night eating is associated with emotional and external eating in college students. Eat Behav 13(3):202–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2012.02.002 Evers C, Adriaanse M, de Ridder DT, de Witt Huberts JC (2013) Good mood food. Positive emotion as a neglected trigger for food intake. Appetite 68:1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2013.04.007 Polivy J, Herman CP (1993) Etiology of binge eating: Psychological mechanisms. In: Fairburn CG, Wilson GT (eds) Binge eating: Nature, assessment, and treatment. Guilford Press, pp 173–205 Crockett AC, Myhre SK, Rokke PD (2015) Boredom proneness and emotion regulation predict emotional eating. J Health Psychol 20(5):670–680. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105315573439 Lu Q, Tao F, Hou F, Zhang Z, Ren LL (2016) Emotion regulation, emotional eating and the energy-rich dietary pattern. A population-based study in chinese adolescents. Appetite 99:149–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2016.01.011 Loxton N, Dawe S, Cahill A (2011) Does negative mood drive the urge to eat? The contribution of negative mood, exposure to food cues and eating style. Appetite 56:368–374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2011.01.011 Van Strien T, Frijters JE, Bergers GP, Defares PB (1986) The Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) for assessment of restrained, emotional, and external eating behavior. Int J Eat Disorder 5(2):295–315. https://doi.org/10.1002/1098-108X(198602)5:23.0.CO;2-T Bailly N, Maitre I, Amanda M, Hervé C, Alaphilippe D (2012) The Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ). Assessment of eating behaviour in an aging French population. Appetite 59(3):853–858. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2012.08.029 Herman CP, Mack D (2010) Restrained and unrestrained eating. J Pers 43(4):647–660. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1975.tb00727.x Nguyen-Michel ST, Unger JB, Spruijt-Metz D (2007) Dietary correlates of emotional eating in adolescence. Appetite 49(2):494–499. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2007.03.005 Block LG, Keller PA, Vallen B, Williamson S, Birau MM, Grinstein A et al (2016) The squander sequence: understanding food waste at each stage of the consumer decision-making process. J Public Policy Mark 35(2):292–304. https://doi.org/10.1509/jppm.15.132 Cox D, Cox AD (2002) Beyond first impressions: the effects of repeated exposure on consumer liking of visually complex and simple product designs. J Acad Market Sci 30:119–130. https://doi.org/10.1177/03079459994371 Genschow O, Reutner L, Wänke M (2012) The color red reduces snack food and soft drink intake. Appetite 58(2):699–702. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2011.12.023 Reimann M, Zaichkowsky J, Neuhaus C, Bender T, Weber B (2010) Aesthetic package design: a behavioral, neural, and psychological investigation. J Consum Psychol 20:431–441. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2010.06.009 Valentina MDR, Spence C, Tonetto LM (2019) Influences of visual attributes of food packaging on consumer preference and associations with taste and healthiness. Int J Consum Stud 43(2):210–217. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12500 Nisbett RE, Wilson TD (1977) The halo effect: evidence for unconscious alteration of judgments. J Pers Soc Psychol 35(4):250–256. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.35.4.250 Zhang SY, Qian JZ, Wu CJ, Dexian He DX, Zhang W, Yan J, He XY (2022) Tasting more than just food: effect of aesthetic appeal of plate patterns on food perception. Foods 11(7):931. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11070931 Bloch PH (1995) Seeking the ideal form: product design and consumer response. J Marketing 59(3):16–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299505900302 Zellner DA, Loss CR, Zearfoss J, Remolina S (2014) It tastes as good as it looks! The effect of food presentation on liking for the flavor of food. Appetite 77:31–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.02.009 Michel C, Velasco C, Fraemohs P, Spence C (2015) Studying the impact of plating on ratings of the food served in a naturalistic dining context. Appetite 90:45–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2015.02.030 Castagna AC, Pinto DC, Mattila A, Barcellos D (2021) Beauty-is-good, ugly-is-risky: food aesthetics bias and construal level. J Bus Res 135:633–643. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.06.063 Grewal L, Hmurovic J, Lamberton C, Reczek RW (2019) The self-perception connection: why consumers devalue unattractive produce. J Marketing 83(1):89–107. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242918816319 De Hooge IE, Oostindjer M, Aschemann-Witzel J, Normann A, Loose SM, Almli VL (2017) This apple is too ugly for me!: consumer preferences for suboptimal food products in the supermarket and at home. Food Qual Prefer 56:80–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2016.09.012 Hagen L (2020) Pretty healthy food: How and when aesthetics enhance perceived healthiness. J Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242920944384 Zheng RC (1999) Psychometrics. People’s Education Press, Beijing, China Zhao XR, Wang JJ, Li JH, Luo G, He XY (2020) The neural mechanism of aesthetic judgments of dynamic landscapes: an fmri study. Sci Rep-UK. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-77658-y Zhang W, Tang XX, He XY, Lai SX (2018) Attentional bias to beauty with evolutionary benefits: evidence from aesthetic appraisal of landscape architecture. Front Psychol 9:71. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00071 Małachowska A, Jeżewska-Zychowicz M, Gębski J (2021) Polish Adaptation of the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ): the role of eating style in explaining food intake—a cross-sectional study. Nutrients 13(12):4486. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13124486 Li YN, Liu Y, Bao J (2018) The applicability of dutch eating behavior questionnaire(debq) in chinese college students. Chin J Clin Psychol 2:277–281 Bulik CM, Tozzi F, Anderson C, Mazzeo SE, Sullivan PF (2003) The relation between eating disorders and components of perfectionism. AM J Psychiat 160(2):366–368. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.160.2.366 Garg N, Wansink B, Inman JJ (2007) The influence of incidental affect on consumers’ food intake. J Marketing 71:194–206. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.71.1.194 Bublitz MG, Peracchio LA, Block LG (2010) Why did i eat that? Perspectives on food decision making and dietary restraint. J Consum Psychol 20(3):239–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2010.06.008 Macht M, Gerer J, Ellgring H (2003) Emotions in overweight and normal-weight women immediately after eating foods differing in energy. Physiol Behav 80(2–3):367–374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2003.08.012 Cardi V, Leppanen J, Treasure J (2015) The effects of negative and positive mood induction on eating behaviour: a meta-analysis of laboratory studies in the healthy population and eating and weight disorders. Neurosci Biobehav R 57:299–309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.08.011 Heatherton TF, Baumeister RF (1991) Binge eating as escape from self-awareness. Psychol Bull 11(1):86. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.110.1.86 Nguyen-Rodriguez ST, Unger JB, Spruijt-Metz D (2009) Psychological determinants of emotional eating in adolescence. Eat Disord 17(3):211–224. https://doi.org/10.1080/10640260902848543 Spoor S, Bekker M, Strien TV, Heck G (2007) Relations between negative affect, coping, and emotional eating. Appetite 48(3):368–376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2006.10.005 van Strien T, Gibson EL, Baños R, Cebolla A, Winkens LH (2019) Is comfort food actually comforting for emotional eaters? A (moderated) mediation analysis. Physiol Behav. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2019.112671 Epel E, Lapidus R, Mcewen B, Brownell K (2001) Stress may add bite to appetite in women: a laboratory study of stress-induced cortisol and eating behavior. Psychoneuroendocrino 26:37–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0306-4530(00)00035-4 Finch LE, Tomiyama AJ (2015) Comfort eating, psychological stress, and depressive symptoms in young adult women. Appetite 95:239–244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2015.07.017 Lyman B (1982) The nutritional values and food group characteristics of food preferred during various emotions. J Psychol 112:121–127. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.1982.9923544 Macht M (2008) How emotions affect eating: a five-way model. Appetite 50(1):1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2007.07.002 Newman E, O’ Connor DBCM (2007) Daily hassles and eating behaviour: The role of cortisol reactivity status. Psychoneuroendocrino 32(2):125–132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2006.11.006 Ng DM, Jeffery RW (2003) Relationships between perceived stress and health behaviors in a sample of working adults. Health Psychol 22(6):638–642. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6133.22.6.638 Macedo DM, Diez-Garcia RW (2014) Sweet craving and ghrelin and leptin levels in women during stress. Appetite 80:264–270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.05.031 Zhang JW, Piff PK, Iyer R, Koleva S, Keltner D (2014) An occasion for unselfing: beautiful nature leads to prosociality. J Environ Psychol 2014(37):61–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2013.11.008 Pfeiffer BE, Sundar A, Deval H (2021) Not too ugly to be tasty: Guiding consumer food inferences for the greater good. Food Qual Prefer 92:104218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2021.104218 Scholey A, Haskell C, Robertson B, Kennedy D, Milne A, Wetherell M (2009) Chewing gum alleviates negative mood and reduces cortisol during acute laboratory psychological stress. Physiol Behav 97(3–4):304–312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2009.02.028 Gu JS, Su JS, Han WF, Meng B (2013) Chewing stimulation alteration of molars increases anxiety in mice. J Oral Maxil Surg 23(5):341–346 Kent JM, Mathew SJ, Gorman JM (2002) Molecular targets in the treatment of anxiety. Biol Psychiat 52(10):1008–1030. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3223(02)01672-4 Aoki H, Hori N, Kawahata M, Kimoto K (2010) Neurogenesis in the rat hippocampus affected by dysfunctional mastication and Corticosterone. Neurosci Res 65:103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neures.2009.09.454 Ekuni D, Tomofuji T, Irie K, Azuma T, Endo Y, Kasuyama K et al (2011) Occlusal disharmony increases amyloid-β in the rat hippocampus. Neuromol Med 13(3):197–203. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12017-011-8151-0