When planning is not enough: The self-regulatory effect of implementation intentions on changing snacking habits.

Objective: This study examined whether matching implementation intentions to people's regulatory orientation affects the effectiveness of changing unhealthy snacking habits. Design: Participants' regulatory orientation was either measured (as a chronic trait) or manipulated (as a situational state), and participants were randomly assigned to implementation intention conditions to eat more healthy snacks or avoid eating unhealthy ones. Main Outcome Measures: A self-reported online food diary of healthy and unhealthy snacks over a 2-day period. Results: Participants with weak unhealthy snacking habits consumed more healthy snacks when forming any type of implementation intentions (regardless of match or mismatch with their regulatory orientation), while participants with strong unhealthy snacking habits consumed more healthy snacks only when forming implementation intentions that matched their regulatory orientations. Conclusion: Results suggest that implementation intentions that match regulatory orientation heighten motivation intensity and put snacking under intentional control for people with strong unhealthy snacking habits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using aversive images to enhance healthy food choices and implicit attitudes: An experimental test of evaluative conditioning.

Objective: To examine the effect of communicating images of energy-dense snack foods paired with aversive images of the potential health consequences of unhealthy eating, on implicit and explicit attitudes and food choice behavior. Design: Participants were randomly allocated to either an evaluative conditioning (EC) procedure that paired images of snack foods with images of potential adverse health consequences or a control condition that featured images of snack foods alone. Main Outcome Measures: Implicit attitudes were assessed pre- and post-intervention. Explicit attitudes and food choice behavior were assessed post-intervention. Results: The conditioning intervention made implicit attitudes toward energy-dense snacks more negative, with this effect greatest in those with relatively more favorable implicit attitudes toward these snacks at baseline. Participants in the conditioning intervention were more likely to choose fruit rather than snacks in a behavioral choice task, a relationship mediated by changes in implicit attitudes. Conclusion: Presenting aversive images of potential health consequences with those of specific foodstuffs can change implicit attitudes, which impacts on subsequent food choice behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exposure to slim images in mass media: Television commercials as reminders of restriction in restrained eaters.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to explore the effects of exposure to slim images and diet-related products in commercials on actual food intake in relation to dietary restraint. Design: An experimental design was used, in which food intake was measured in 124 female students who watched either a sad or a neutral movie on television, which was interrupted by either commercials featuring slim models and diet products, or neutral commercials. Subsequently, participants filled out questionnaires on dietary restraint and any tendency toward overeating. Main outcome variable: Intake of snack food while watching television. Results: It was found that highly restrained students exposed to commercials with slim models and diet-related products ate less food, whereas less restrained eaters ate slightly more after seeing these commercials. Conclusion: The findings suggest that restrained eaters confronted with diet products and slim images when watching television will be reminded of their restricted eating behavior and eat less. The present study provides support for the reinhibition theory of slim media images. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Control of food intake in children by reinforcement of relevant verbal behavior.

Amounts consumed of 4 foods were recorded for each child in nursery school. 10 children were randomly selected for repeated sessions of verbal conditioning, which occurred shortly before snack time, and consisted of reinforcing the verbal behavior (food term) denoting the food selected for manipulation. The data give evidence that when positive reinforcement is associated with the verbal response denoting a food, then the consumption of that food increases. Conceptually, food can be considered a stimulus that sets up a class of responses, including verbal and eating responses. If the verbal response in that class is reinforced, hence strengthened, then the other responses of that class will be strengthened as well. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rats (Rattus norvegicus) do not prefer salted solid food.

Conducted 3 studies to evaluate the ingestive responses of Sprague-Dawley rats to salt in foods and to determine whether prior exposure to salted foods influenced their intake. In Exp I, 16 Ss were given 1-hr access to salted and unsalted foods (e.g., potato chips, peanuts, soup) commonly consumed by humans in the salted form. In each choice situation, rats consumed more of the unsalted variety of solid food. In Exp II, the concentration of salt in a wider variety of foods was varied. 15 Ss were allowed a choice of a given salt concentration or the unsalted food. In no case was the salted solid food eaten in excess of the unsalted solid food, and in general, more of the unsalted solid food was eaten. In Exp III, 2 groups of 8 Ss were given exposure from weaning to either salted or unsalted potato chips for 3 mo. Exposure did not alter the Ss' relative intake of salted chips. When given a choice, more unsalted chips were consumed by both groups. Results indicate that sodium-replete Sprague-Dawley rats generally prefer unsalted solid foods to salted ones. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peers as mediators of television food advertisements aimed at children.

Past research on the effects of TV has focused primarily on it as a unitary force rather than as 1 source of influence in a network of cross-pressures. The present study attempted to determine how peer-modeled food preferences combined with TV food commercials to influence the food preferences of school-aged children. 40 Black and 40 White 4th graders were assigned randomly to 1 of 4 conditions: TV control, TV advertisements with similar peer-modeled food preferences, and TV advertisements with dissimilar peer-modeled food preferences. An additional 40 children served as peer models. Ss in the TV advertisement condition preferred foods in the same class as the advertised foods more frequently than did Ss in the TV control condition. Ss in the TV advertisement/peer-similar condition preferred foods like the advertised food more often than Ss in the TV advertisement condition, whereas Ss in the TV/peer-dissimilar condition preferred foods like the advertised food less frequently than did Ss in the TV advertisement condition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Control yourself or just eat what you like? Weight gain over a year is predicted by an interactive effect of response inhibition and implicit preference for snack foods.

Objective: Previous research showed a strong relation between response inhibition, overeating and overweight. It was shown that people with ineffective response inhibition are more susceptible to the temptations of palatable food, eat more and are more often overweight or obese. In addition the results of several studies suggest that what needs to be inhibited may be an affect-driven motivation for food. In the present longitudinal study, we therefore investigated the interplay of response inhibition and implicit preferences for snack foods in predicting weight gain. Design: In a sample of predominantly normal weight undergraduate female students, implicit preference for food, response inhibition, and body mass index (BMI) were measured. After 1 year, BMI was measured again. Main Outcome Measures: Weight gain of the participants over a 1-year period. Results and Conclusions: The results strongly confirmed our expectations: participants with strong implicit preferences for snack foods and low inhibitory capacity gained the most weight. These findings imply that ineffective response inhibition may render people vulnerable to excessive or impulsive behavior in general, but that the manifestation thereof is determined by domain-specific preferences or needs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dietary variety, energy regulation, and obesity.

Increased variety in the food supply may contribute to the development and maintenance of obesity. Thirty-nine studies examining dietary variety, energy intake, and body composition are reviewed. Animal and human studies show that food consumption increases when there is more variety in a meal or diet and that greater dietary variety is associated with increased body weight and fat. A hypothesized mechanism for these findings is sensory-specific satiety, a phenomenon demonstrating greater reductions in hedonic ratings or intake of foods consumed compared with foods not consumed. Nineteen studies documenting change in preference, intake, and hedonic ratings of food after a food has been eaten to satiation in animals and humans are reviewed, and the theory of sensory-specific satiety is examined. The review concludes with the relevance of oral habituation theory as a unifying construct for the effects of variety of sensory-specific satiety, clinical implications of dietary variety and sensory-specific satiety on energy regulation, and suggestions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Can fruits and vegetables and activities substitute for snack foods?

This study investigated the choice of snack foods versus fruits and vegetables and enjoyable sedentary behaviors using a computerized behavioral choice task. Thirty-nine participants were provided the choice of earning points for snack foods or fruits and vegetables (Condition 1) or snack foods or enjoyable sedentary behaviors (Condition 2). The behavioral cost to gain access to snacks increased across trials, whereas the behavioral costs to obtain alternatives to snack foods remained constant across trials. Results showed that when costs for snack foods and alternatives were equal, participants chose snack foods, but as the behavioral costs increased, participants shifted choice to the alternatives. The switch point for both alternatives was equal. Results suggest that fruits and vegetables and sedentary activities can substitute for snack foods when the behavioral cost for snack foods is increased. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Obesity: Responding to the global epidemic.

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States and other developed nations. In the United States, 27% of adults are obese and an additional 34% are overweight. Research in the past decade has shown that genetic influences clearly predispose some individuals to obesity. The marked increase in prevalence, however, appears to be attributable to a toxic environment that implicitly discourages physical activity while explicitly encouraging the consumption of supersized portions of high-fat, high-sugar foods. Management of the obesity epidemic will require a two-pronged approach. First, better treatments, including behavioral, pharmacologic, and surgical interventions, are needed for individuals who are already obese. The second and potentially more promising approach is to prevent the development of obesity by tackling the toxic environment. This will require bold public policy initiatives such as regulating food advertising directed at children. The authors call not for the adoption of a specific policy initiative, but instead propose that policy research, based on viewing obesity as a public health problem, become a central focus of research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

One stage reconstruction of extensive abdominal wall defect with bilateral tensor fascia lata (TFL) flaps

Results of a small nutrition survey carried out in an urban settlement in Port Moresby are presented. Anthropometric, dietary and socioeconomic data were collected on 90 children under five years old and 78 adults. 30% of the children under five years old were below 80% weight for age. Of the 31% of adults found to be undernourished, the majority were females aged less than 30 years. With respect to dietary information, most families appear to eat a variety of foods though no attempt was made to measure quantity of foods consumed. Rice is the single most popular food, with 69% of adults having consumed it the previous day. Despite the high reliance on purchased foods, income appears to be low with the majority of people relying on money from relatives and the sale of home produce. The recommendations made for appropriate health and nutrition education may be applicable for other growing settlement populations in and around Port Moresby and other urban centres of Papua New Guinea.     

Fat substitutes promote weight gain in rats consuming high-fat diets.

The use of food products designed to mimic the sensory properties of sweet and fat while providing fewer calories has been promoted as a method for reducing food intake and body weight. However, such products may interfere with a learned relationship between the sensory properties of food and the caloric consequences of consuming those foods. In the present experiment, we examined whether use of the fat substitute, olestra, affect energy balance by comparing the effects of consuming high-fat, high-calorie potato chips to the effects of consuming potato chips that sometimes signaled high calories (using high-fat potato chips) and that sometimes signaled lower calories (using nonfat potato chips manufactured with the fat substitute olestra). Food intake, body weight gain and adiposity were greater for rats that consumed both the high-calorie chips and the low-calorie chips with olestra compared to rats that consumed consuming only the high-calorie chips, but only if animals were also consuming a chow diet that was high in fat and calories. However, rats previously exposed to both the high- and low-calorie chips exhibited increased body weight gain, food intake and adiposity when they were subsequently provided with a high fat, high calorie chow diet suggesting that experience with the chips containing olestra affected the ability to predict high calories based on the sensory properties of fat. These results extend the generality of previous findings that interfering with a predictive relationship between sensory properties of foods and calories may contribute to dysregulation of energy balance, overweight and obesity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sequence comparison of outer membrane phospholipases A: implications for structure and for the catalytic mechanism

OBJECTIVES: The preferences for high-fat foods are believed to be based on their sensory attributes and energy density; however less is known about how such preferences might be weakened, other than in response to deterioration in flavor or textural quality. The aim of the present study was to see whether acceptability of reduced fat/energy foods would wane as the original post-ingestive nutritional benefits are reduced when palatability remains essentially constant. DESIGN: Repeated measures, within-subjects design conducted in two counterbalanced three week trials. SETTING/SUBJECTS: Sixteen normal-weight males (mean age 25.8 +/- 1.2 y) came to our laboratory at the H?pital Hotel Dieu in Paris to eat an afternoon snack on 13 consecutive days (excluding weekends). INTERVENTION/OUTCOME MEASURES: Intake was recorded following repeated exposure to two flavors of standard (10% fat as a percentage of total solids weight), and low (3%) fat ice cream. One group received standard vanilla or low-fat strawberry ice cream on alternate days for two consecutive weeks; these flavor associations were reversed for a second group. The two flavors were rated as equipalatable at the beginning of the experiment at all energy levels. RESULTS: Subjects consumed the same quantity of ice cream throughout the experimental period, independent of energy density or flavor. Consequently, aggregate (summed) energy intake for subjects consuming low-fat ice cream was significantly lower (by 581 kJ (139 kcal), 15.4 g fat). Food intake records for the 24 h period immediately following the test sessions revealed no compensation for fat or energy. Despite the 28% reduction in energy density for the low-fat version, acceptance for the flavors associated with the reduced-energy versions had not declined by the end of the experimental period. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that acceptance of reduced-fat foods may not be critically dependent on the post-ingestive metabolic effects when the reductions in energy density are small. Further tests with more severe reductions, and perhaps over more prolonged time periods, will be necessary to determine at what level of substitution acceptance might begin to deteriorate.     

Can(not) take my eyes off it: Attention bias for food in overweight participants.

Objective: The aim of the current study was to investigate attention biases for food cues, craving, and overeating in overweight and healthy-weight participants. Specifically, it was tested whether attention allocation processes toward high-fat foods differ between overweight and normal weight individuals and whether selective attention biases for food cues are related to craving and food intake. Method: Eye movements were recorded as a direct index of attention allocation in a sample of 22 overweight/obese and 29 healthy-weight female students during a visual probe task with food pictures. In addition, self-reported craving and actual food intake during a bogus “taste-test” were assessed. Results: Overweight participants showed an approach-avoidance pattern of attention allocation toward high-fat food. Overweight participants directed their first gaze more often toward food pictures than healthy-weight individuals, but subsequently showed reduced maintenance of attention on these pictures. For overweight participants, craving was related to initial orientation toward food. Moreover, overweight participants consumed significantly more snack food than healthy-weight participants. Conclusion: Results emphasize the importance of identifying different attention bias components in overweight individuals with regard to craving and subsequent overeating. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Olestra Postmarketing Surveillance Study: design and baseline results from the sentinel site

OBJECTIVE: To describe the design of the Olestra Postmarketing Surveillance Study (OPMSS) and to present baseline results from the sentinel site. The purpose of the OPMSS is to monitor consumption patterns of olestra-containing snacks and to determine whether consumption affects nutritional status. DESIGN: The OPMSS combines repeated cross-section, random-digit dial telephone surveys before and after the market release of olestra-containing foods as well as intensive dietary and clinical assessments on a subsample of survey participants. SUBJECTS: Data are from baseline telephone (n = 1,962) and clinical (n = 1,069) assessment of participants (aged 18 to 74 years) in the Marion County, Indiana, sentinel site. Mean age of participants in the telephone survey was 43.2 years; 19% of respondents were black and 29% had completed college. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Analyses examined associations among savory snack use, fruit and vegetable consumption, and demographic and health-related characteristics. Data from the telephone survey were adjusted to be representative of the Marion County population. RESULTS: Almost 96% of the population surveyed had eaten savory snacks in the month before the survey: 74% had eaten regular-fat, 26% fat-reduced, and 78% nonfat types. Total snack consumption did not differ by gender, education, or race. Residents younger than 35 years ate snacks 16 times a month compared with 12 times a month among older residents. Types of snacks consumed differed markedly by demographic characteristics. Male, younger, and less educated residents ate more regular-fat snacks; female, white, and college-educated residents ate more nonfat snacks. In general, residents practicing healthful behaviors, including not smoking, eating fruits and vegetables, and exercising, also ate fewer regular-fat and more nonfat snacks. Fat intake was also related linearly to use of snack foods, ranging from 33.2% of energy among those consuming 1 serving per month or less to 36.8% among those consuming 20 or more servings per month. APPLICATIONS/CONCLUSIONS: Procedures for recruitment and nutrition assessment appear adequate for evaluating the impact of olestra consumption on nutritional status. Nutritionists should be aware that there is potential for relatively high olestra consumption, given that almost 35% of Marion County residents eat snack foods at least 20 times a month. Consumers eating at least 20 servings of snacks per month derived more than 12% of their total energy and fat from snack foods, which suggests that substituting olestra snacks could substantially reduce intakes of fat and energy.     

Energy density of foods affects energy intake in normal-weight women

This study examined the effect of energy density, independent of fat content and palatability, on food and energy intakes. With use of a within-subjects design, normal-weight women (n = 18) were provided with meals for 2 d during each of three test sessions. During lunch, dinner, and an evening snack, subjects were given free access to a main entree varying in energy density (low, medium, or high). The manipulated main entrees were similar in palatability to their counterparts across conditions. Low-energy compulsory (consumption required) side dishes accompanied each meal. Subjects also consumed a standard, compulsory breakfast. Results showed that subjects consumed a similar amount of food (by weight) across the three conditions of energy density. Thus, significantly more energy was consumed in the condition of high energy density (7532 +/- 363 kJ, or 1800 +/- 86 kcal) than in the medium- (6356 +/- 281 kJ, or 1519 +/- 67 kcal) and low- (5756 +/- 178 kJ, or 1376 +/- 43 kcal) energy-density conditions (P < 0.0001). There were no differences in hunger or fullness before meals, after meals, or over the 2 d across conditions. The results from this study indicate that energy density affects energy intake independent of macronutrient content or palatability, suggesting that the overconsumption of high-fat foods may be due to their high energy density rather than to their fat content.     

Impact of breakfast consumption on nutritional adequacy of the diets of young adults in Bogalusa, Louisiana: ethnic and gender contrasts

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of breakfast consumption patterns on the nutritional adequacy of diets of young adults and determine possible ethnic and gender differences. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional survey of young adults in Bogalusa, La. SUBJECTS: Twenty-four-hour dietary recalls were collected from October 1988 through October 1991 on 504 young adults (mean age=23 years, 58% women, 70% white). STATISTICS: Analysis of variance and logistic regression techniques were used to investigate the relationship of breakfast consumption, ethnicity, and gender on dietary adequacy. The P values are from an analysis of variance model that adjusted for gender and ethnicity. RESULTS: Thirty-seven percent of young adults skipped breakfast. Of those who ate breakfast, 75% ate at home, 10% ate a fast-food breakfast, and 15% reported other sources. Mean energy intake from breakfast was 485 kcal; men consumed more energy than women (P<.001), and blacks consumed more energy than whites (P<.01). The breakfast meal provided an average of 13% of energy from protein, 55% from carbohydrate, 14% from sucrose, 34% from fat, and 12% from saturated fat. Whites consumed a breakfast higher in carbohydrate and sucrose than blacks, who consumed a breakfast higher in fat and saturated fat. Variations in breakfast foods consumed explained the racial differences in the nutrient composition of the breakfast meal. Young adults who skipped breakfast had lower total daily intakes of energy (P<.0001), protein per 1,000 kcal (P<.05), and saturated fat per 1,000 kcal (P<.01) than those who consumed breakfast. For all vitamins and minerals studied, a higher percentage of young adults who skipped breakfast did not meet two thirds of the Recommended Dietary Allowance than those who consumed a breakfast. APPLICATIONS: Encouraging consumption of breakfast, along with selection of more healthful breakfast food choices or snacks that are culturally appropriate, may be important strategies for improving the nutritional quality of young adults' diets.     

Formation of a fluorescent adduct in the reaction of 2''-deoxyadenosine with a malonaldehyde-acetaldehyde condensation product

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether using an encoding strategy and/or providing more support at the time of retrieval improves the accuracy of 24-hour dietary recalls among the elderly. DESIGN: Posttest-only control group design. SETTING: The sample was recruited through advertisements and at senior centers and a low-income apartment building in rural central Pennsylvania. SUBJECTS: Study participants were 21 men and 73 women aged 58 years old and older. Everyone completed the study. INTERVENTION: The treatment group was unobtrusively guided in use of an encoding strategy before consuming the prepared meal. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A 24-hour dietary recall and recognition tests were administered the next day for the foods consumed at the meal and for serving sizes of 5 of the foods. Memory tests were also administered. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: Linear regression was used to examine differences between the treatment and control groups and to identify variables that explained variation in the number of foods correctly recalled or recognized. The Chi 2 test was used to examine correct vs incorrect recall or recognition of the serving sizes of the 5 foods between the groups and to identify explanatory variables for this task. RESULTS: Subjects remembered more foods when they used an encoding strategy and when recognition replaced free recall; they performed best when both strategies were used. Use of this encoding strategy did not improve accurate recall or recognition of serving sizes of 5 foods; however, performances did improve when recognition replaced free recall. CONCLUSIONS: Among older adults, use of an encoding strategy and provision of support at the time of retrieval enhances memory of foods consumed but not of amounts consumed. To strengthen memory of foods consumed, older adults need to perform effortful memory tasks when they are eating.     

Stress and dietary practices in adolescents.

Baseline data from the Health and Behavior in Teenagers Study (HABITS) were used to investigate associations between stress and dietary practices in a socioeconomically and ethnically diverse sample of 4,320 schoolchildren (mean age=11.83 years). Male (n=2,578) and female (n=1,742) pupils completed questionnaire measures of stress and 4 aspects of dietary practice (fatty food intake, fruit and vegetable intake, snacking, and breakfast consumption) and also provided demographic and anthropometric data. Multivariate analyses revealed that greater stress was associated with more fatty food intake, less fruit and vegetable intake, more snacking, and a reduced likelihood of daily breakfast consumption. These effects were independent of individual (gender, weight) and social (socioeconomic status, ethnicity) factors. Stress may contribute to long-term disease risk by steering the diet in a more unhealthy direction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)