Lydia J.R. Lawless

Time preferences and health behaviour: a review

In this paper, we review published studies to assess the influence of time preferences on human health behaviour. Our review indicates that elicited discount rates for health have been found to be higher than those for money in both the social and private context. We discuss the importance of discount rates for public policy since high time discount rates can contribute to governmental emphasis on acute health care, rather than preventive health care. We then examine how time preferences interrelate with specific health concerns such as smoking or obesity. We find that even when time preferences are elicited in the monetary domain, they can be successful in predicting smoking cessation and likewise for obesity. We also discuss how time preferences relate with teen risk taking behavior.JEL codesD91, I0

Sensory, Compositional, and Color Properties of Nutraceutical-Rich Juice Blends

Phytochemical-rich fruits may have health-related properties, which make juices of these fruits prime candidates for the nutraceutical market. Understanding consumer acceptance and compositional, color, and descriptive sensory changes during storage is crucial to the success of nutraceutical-rich juices. Juices (blackberry, blueberry, and Concord grape) were blended according to the ABCD mixture design (three primary juices, three binary blends, and four tertiary blends). Prior to storage, a trained descriptive panel (n = 8) determined that Concord-containing blends were generally sweeter, less bitter, less astringent, and less sour than blackberry- or blueberry-containing blends. When relating compositional, color, and descriptive sensory characteristics, sweetness was inversely correlated to total phenolics (r = −0.88), total anthocyanins (r = −0.75), color density (r = −0.84), and astringency (r = −0.92) and positively correlated with soluble solids (r = 0.92) and polymeric color (r = 0.78). Consumers (n = 108) evaluated overall liking on a 9-point verbal hedonic scale. Average liking scores were high for 100% Concord juice (7.79), moderate for 100% blueberry juice (5.47), and low for 100% blackberry juice (2.95). Consumer acceptance was driven by soluble solids, total anthocyanins, purple color, red color, astringency, sweetness, and grape flavor. Compositional, color, and descriptive sensory changes were tracked during 200 days storage at 2°C and 21°C. Prior to storage, 100% blueberry juice had the highest total anthocyanins (67 mg/100 mL), 100% blackberry juice had the highest total phenolics (249 mg/100 mL), and 100% Concord juice had the highest polymeric color (23%). During storage, polymeric color increased as total anthocyanins decreased at 2°C and 21°C. Blending juices balanced nutraceutical enhancement and maintenance of consumer acceptance.