Thomas A. Brunner

An (un)healthy poster: When environmental cues affect consumers' food choices at vending machines.

Environmental cues can affect food decisions. There is growing evidence that environmental cues influence how much one consumes. This article demonstrates that environmental cues can similarly impact the healthiness of consumers food choices. Two field studies examined this effect with consumers of vending machine foods who were exposed to different posters. In field study 1, consumers with a health-evoking nature poster compared to a pleasure-evoking fun fair poster or no poster in their visual sight were more likely to opt for healthy snacks. Consumers were also more likely to buy healthy snacks when primed by an activity poster than when exposed to the fun fair poster. In field study 2, this consumer pattern recurred with a poster of skinny Giacometti sculptures. Overall, the results extend the mainly laboratory-based evidence by demonstrating the health-relevant impact of environmental cues on food decisions in the field. Results are discussed in light of priming literature emphasizing the relevance of preexisting associations, mental concepts and goals.

A nudge in a healthier direction: How environmental cues help restrained eaters pursue their weight-control goal

Losing weight is a goal for many people, but it is hard to pursue. However, dieting cues in the environment hold promise for improving individuals eating behavior. For example, exposure to thin, human-like sculptures by the artist Alberto Giacometti has been found to promote healthy snack choices at a vending machine. Whether health- or weight-related processes drive such effects has not yet been determined. However, a detailed understanding of the content-related drivers of environmental cues effects provides the first indications regarding a cues possible use. Therefore, two laboratory studies were conducted. They examined the Giacometti sculptures effects on unhealthy and healthy food intake (Study 1) and on the completion of weight- and health-related fragmented words (Study 2). Study 1 indicated that the sculptures are weight-related by showing that they reduced food intake independent of food healthiness. Furthermore, the Giacometti effect was moderated by restrained eating. Restrained eaters, who are known for their weight-control goal, ate less after having been exposed to the thin sculptures. The results of Study 2 pointed in the same direction. Restrained eaters completed more weight-related words after being exposed to the sculptures. Overall, these studies suggest that the thin sculptures are primarily weight-related cues and particularly helpful for restrained eaters. Environmental weight-control cues such as the Giacometti sculptures could act as a counterforce to our obesogenic environment and help restrained eaters pursue their weight-control goal. In this way, they could nudge food decisions in a healthier direction.

It takes some effort. How minimal physical effort reduces consumption volume

Plenty of studies have demonstrated that effort influences food choice. However, few have been conducted to analyze the effect of effort on consumption volume. Moreover, the few studies that have measured consumption volume all have strong limitations. The goal of the present paper is to disentangle confounding variables in earlier research and to rule out various alternative explanations. In a tasting setting focusing on snacking behavior, either unwrapping a food product or grabbing it with sugar tongs was enough to significantly reduce consumption, regardless of whether an unhealthy or healthy food item was used. Hardly any cognitive resources seem to be necessary for the effect to occur, as cognitive load did not affect the findings. In light of obesity being a pressing concern, these findings might be valuable for individuals as well as for the food industry.

Nutrient intake of Swiss toddlers

PurposeDuring the first years of life, food preferences are shaped that might last throughout a person’s entire life affecting his/her health in the long term. However, knowledge on early feeding habits is still limited for toddlers. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to: (1) assess toddlers’ nutrient intake; (2) compare the findings to past studies as well as to national feeding recommendations and (3) identify major food sources for energy and macronutrients.MethodsA food survey using a 4-day diary was conducted. The dietary software nut.s® was used to analyse the data.ResultsA cohort of 188 healthy toddlers (aged 1–3xa0years) was analysed. The energy intake of most toddlers was below the recommended daily intake (RDI) but in accordance with earlier studies. Protein intake was three- to fourfold higher than the RDI and reached the proposed upper limit of 15% of total energy intake. Fat intake was in accordance with the RDI, but the balance of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids should be improved. Carbohydrate intake met the RDI. For the micronutrients, iron and vitamin D intakes showed critical values.ConclusionAs in other European countries, the diet of Swiss toddlers in general seems adequate but does not meet all nutritional requirements. In particular, the quality of the fats and vitamin D supplementation should be improved. For proteins and iron, additional research is needed to gain more confidence in the recommendations.

Household food waste quantification : comparison of two methods

The purpose of this paper is to quantify household food waste by using two different methods. A comparison of the results highlights a divergence between the perceived contribution to the problem and more objective measurements.,Self-reported quantities, collected by means of a postal survey sent out to a random sample of the French- and German-speaking Swiss population, were compared to extrapolations from a national waste compositional analysis report.,The results of the self-reported survey showed 8.9u2009kg of avoidable and possibly avoidable household food waste per capita per year, whereas calculations based on the second method resulted in a total of 89.4u2009kg of mostly avoidable household food waste per capita per year.,This striking tenfold discrepancy between the two sets of results highlights the extent of under-reporting in self-assessment and speaks in favour of using more objective methods to quantify food waste, building on the example of the second method used in this study.,The discrepancy highlighted here could be used as a hook in an awareness-raising campaign to highlight everyone’s contribution to the food waste issue and encourage citizens to reconsider their behaviour and adopt recommended behavioural changes.,By highlighting the divergence between self-reported and actual waste management facts and figures, this paper justifies the need to develop measures to encourage citizens to reconsider their attitudes and practices.