Nudging Finnish Adults into Replacing Red Meat with Plant-Based Protein via Presenting Foods as Dish of the Day and Altering the Dish Sequence

This study investigated whether Finnish working-aged omnivores (n = 163) could be nudged into replacing red meat with a fava-bean-based protein source via “Dish of the Day” (DoD) and main dish sequence alteration (SA) strategies in a controlled real-world Finnish self-service buffet restaurant with smart scales (Flavoria® Multidisciplinary Research Platform). A further aim was to study whether the effectiveness of the strategies differed by gender, age, and body mass index. The participants were assigned one of four experimental treatments: standard menu (T1), DoD (T2), standard menu + SA (T3), or DoD + SA (T4). The participants could choose any amount or combination of salad components and casseroles with minced meat or fava bean protein. Being subjected to a DoD menu and/or SA had no effect on main dish choice or the share of the meat-based dish in the meal weight. Men were more likely to choose a meat-based main dish and had a higher share of the meat dish in the meal weight compared to women, but no differences were observed between those aged 18–29, 30–44, or 45–65 years or those who were normal weight, overweight, or obese. Future studies should have a larger sample size and investigate food choice motives such as price or environmental awareness

Nudging Finnish Adults into Replacing Red Meat with Plant-Based Protein via Presenting Foods as Dish of the Day and Altering the Dish Sequence

This study investigated whether Finnish working-aged omnivores (n = 163) could be nudged into replacing red meat with a fava-bean-based protein source via “Dish of the Day” (DoD) and main dish sequence alteration (SA) strategies in a controlled real-world Finnish self-service buffet restaurant with smart scales (Flavoria® Multidisciplinary Research Platform). A further aim was to study whether the effectiveness of the strategies differed by gender, age, and body mass index. The participants were assigned one of four experimental treatments: standard menu (T1), DoD (T2), standard menu + SA (T3), or DoD + SA (T4). The participants could choose any amount or combination of salad components and casseroles with minced meat or fava bean protein. Being subjected to a DoD menu and/or SA had no effect on main dish choice or the share of the meat-based dish in the meal weight. Men were more likely to choose a meat-based main dish and had a higher share of the meat dish in the meal weight compared to women, but no differences were observed between those aged 18–29, 30–44, or 45–65 years or those who were normal weight, overweight, or obese. Future studies should have a larger sample size and investigate food choice motives such as price or environmental awareness

Factors explaining individual differences in taste sensitivity and taste modality recognition among Finnish adults

The objective of this study was to investigate the factors affecting interindividual variation in the sense of taste among Finnish adults. Two components of taste function were examined with five established taste modalities: taste sensitivity and capability to identify taste modalities. The potential explanatory factors for taste function included gender, age, BMI, and smoking. In total, 205 volunteers participated in the study at the sensory evaluation laboratory of Functional Foods Forum. Older age (>50 years) and male gender predicted a less sensitive sense of taste in general. For umami sensitivity, high BMI along with older age predicted lower sensitivity. Additionally, taste recognition and sensitivity were related in bitter and umami tastes. Older age was also associated with a poorer capability in taste recognition. Sour–bitter, umami–salty, and salty–umami were the most frequent taste confusions.</p

The Individual Differences in the Perception of Oral Chemesthesis Are Linked to Taste Sensitivity

Chemesthesis is a part of the flavor experience of foods. Chemesthetic perception is studied to understand its effect on food-related behavior and health. Thus, the objective of this research was to study individual differences in chemesthetic perception. Our study involved sensory tests of three chemesthetic modalities (astringency, pungency, and cooling). Participants (N = 196) evaluated the intensity of samples in different concentrations using a line scale under sensory laboratory conditions. Aluminum ammonium sulfate, capsaicin, and menthol were used as the prototypic chemesthetic compounds. The participants were divided into sensitivity groups in different chemesthetic modalities by hierarchical clustering based on their intensity ratings. In addition, an oral chemesthesis sensitivity score was determined to represent the generalized chemesthesis sensitivity. The results showed that people can perceive chemesthesis on different intensity levels. There were significantly positive correlations between (1) sensitivity scores for oral chemesthesis and taste as well as (2) each chemesthesis and taste modalities. Moreover, based on the multinomial logistic regression model, significant interactions between oral chemesthesis and taste sensitivity were discovered. Our findings showed that people can be classified into different oral chemesthesis sensitivity groups. The methods and results of this study can be utilized to investigate associations with food-related behavior and health

The Individual Differences in the Perception of Oral Chemesthesis Are Linked to Taste Sensitivity

Chemesthesis is a part of the flavor experience of foods. Chemesthetic perception is studied to understand its effect on food-related behavior and health. Thus, the objective of this research was to study individual differences in chemesthetic perception. Our study involved sensory tests of three chemesthetic modalities (astringency, pungency, and cooling). Participants (N = 196) evaluated the intensity of samples in different concentrations using a line scale under sensory laboratory conditions. Aluminum ammonium sulfate, capsaicin, and menthol were used as the prototypic chemesthetic compounds. The participants were divided into sensitivity groups in different chemesthetic modalities by hierarchical clustering based on their intensity ratings. In addition, an oral chemesthesis sensitivity score was determined to represent the generalized chemesthesis sensitivity. The results showed that people can perceive chemesthesis on different intensity levels. There were significantly positive correlations between (1) sensitivity scores for oral chemesthesis and taste as well as (2) each chemesthesis and taste modalities. Moreover, based on the multinomial logistic regression model, significant interactions between oral chemesthesis and taste sensitivity were discovered. Our findings showed that people can be classified into different oral chemesthesis sensitivity groups. The methods and results of this study can be utilized to investigate associations with food-related behavior and health

Nudging Finnish Adults into Replacing Red Meat with Plant-Based Protein via Presenting Foods as Dish of the Day and Altering the Dish Sequence

This study investigated whether Finnish working-aged omnivores (n = 163) could be nudged into replacing red meat with a fava-bean-based protein source via "Dish of the Day" (DoD) and main dish sequence alteration (SA) strategies in a controlled real-world Finnish self-service buffet restaurant with smart scales (Flavoria (R) Multidisciplinary Research Platform). A further aim was to study whether the effectiveness of the strategies differed by gender, age, and body mass index. The participants were assigned one of four experimental treatments: standard menu (T1), DoD (T2), standard menu + SA (T3), or DoD + SA (T4). The participants could choose any amount or combination of salad components and casseroles with minced meat or fava bean protein. Being subjected to a DoD menu and/or SA had no effect on main dish choice or the share of the meat-based dish in the meal weight. Men were more likely to choose a meat-based main dish and had a higher share of the meat dish in the meal weight compared to women, but no differences were observed between those aged 18-29,30-44, or 45-65 years or those who were normal weight, overweight, or obese. Future studies should have a larger sample size and investigate food choice motives such as price or environmental awareness

Investigating visual attention toward foods in a salad buffet with mobile eye tracking

Mobile eye tracking (MET) enables the recording of gaze data in less-controlled research environments, but best practices for its use in studies about visual attention to foods are yet undetermined. This study supports the building of a coherent framework for this methodological approach by discussing current eye-tracking trends in the field, applying MET in an experiment with real foods, and proposing methodological approaches for future studies. In the experiment, 32 female participants’ gaze data were recorded while they inspected a salad buffet for 20 s and then assembled a self-choice salad. The functionality of fixation, scanpath, and pupil size measures was investigated, focusing on associations between eye movements and food item color and position, eye movements and food item preference, and pupil size and selected measures. Dish placement affected the relative amount of visits to a single food item, whereas food item color and preference were not associated with the examined measures. The pupil-size measure did not function with the elderly participants. Importantly, a simple cluster analysis, based on a scanpath and a food selection measure, helped to illustrate different profiles of food view and selection. It was determined that food item position should be carefully considered in MET studies involving real foods, and scanpath measures could be useful in bringing forth behavioral differences that are not revealed by fixation parameters alone. Importantly, identifying “attention-action” profiles by combining eye-tracking and other measures seems to be a fruitful way of approaching individual differences in food viewing and selection.</p

Individual Differences in the Perception of Color Solutions

The color of food is important for flavor perception and food selection. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the visual color perception of liquid samples among Finnish adult consumers by their background variables. Participants (n = 205) ranked six different colored solutions just by looking according to four attributes: from most to least pleasant, healthy, sweet and sour. The color sample rated most frequently as the most pleasant was red (37%), the most healthy white (57%), the most sweet red and orange (34% both) and the most sour yellow (54%). Ratings of certain colors differed between gender, age, body mass index (BMI) and education groups. Females regarded the red color as the sweetest more often than males (p = 0.013) while overweight subjects rated the orange as the sweetest more often than normal weight subjects (p = 0.029). Personal characteristics may be associated with some differences in color associations.</p