Food compensation: do exercise ads change food intake?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Past research has shown that promotional messages such as food advertising influence food consumption. However, what has gone largely unexplored is the effect of exercise advertising on food intake. This study experimentally tested the effects of exposure to exercise commercials on food intake at a lunch meal as compared to the effects of control commercials.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Prior to eating lunch, 125 participants (71 women, 54 men) watched 8 commercials, either all related to exercise or fitness (n = 67) or neutral products (i.e. car insurance) (n = 58). The meal consisted of a pasta dish with tomato sauce, salad and chocolate pudding. The post-lunch questionnaire included questions about body mass index, exercise habits, motivation and dietary restraint.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Participants exposed to exercise commercials reduced their caloric intake by 21.7% relative to the control condition. Additionally, watching exercise messages increased the perceived healthiness and liking of the meal. Although exercise habits and intentions did not moderate the effect of commercial condition on food intake, we also found that this intake reduction was driven by participants with higher body mass index levels.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results imply that exercise messages may serve as a reminder of the link between food and physical activity and affect food consumption. It also highlights the need for increased awareness that these messages have powerful influences not only on exercise behavior, but also on closely related behaviors such as eating.</p

Exploring the effects of a healthy school lunch on cognitive performance in Dutch primary school children within the Healthy School Lunch project

The ‘Healthy School Lunch’ project (PPS Een gezonde schoollunch - TKI AF-16098) aimed to study the feasibility and impact of offering a healthy school lunch in Dutch primary schools. In the first phase of the project we studied the support for a healthy school lunch among a wide range of stakeholders and we explored what they thought a healthy school lunch should look like. The next phase aimed to study the effects of a healthy school lunch on dietary intake and cognitive performance. In order to investigate the effects of providing a healthy school lunch on the dietary intake of children during lunch, a longitudinal intervention study with three schools was designed, where a healthy school lunch was offered for six months. Due to various financial and methodological reasons that were not fully considered when starting this project, it was not possible to combine the dietary intake and cognition study in the school lunch intervention. Instead, we explored the possibilities and requirements to perform a solid experimental cross-over study on the effects of a healthy school lunch on cognitive performance within the Healthy School Lunch Project. This process is described in the current report. We started with a review of the literature on the effects of a healthy school lunch on cognitive performance of children. Studies on the immediate and transient effects of a healthy school lunch versus skipping lunch showed, on a variety of cognitive measures, small and inconsistent effects on alertness and working memory of children. Studies on the long-term effects of a healthy school lunch versus habitual lunch showed small improvements in concentration and language processing ability of children. Given the restriction that long term effects of a school lunch on cognitive performance could not be examined within the scope of this project, the focus shifted to understanding immediate effects. A well-designed study to capture immediate effects of a healthy school lunch on cognitive performance of children within our project would require a strictly controlled cross-over design in a school setting. The intervention should consist of an ad libitum buffet-style healthy school lunch, compared with a control condition in which children eat ad libitum from a provided lunch comparable to the common relatively unhealthy packed school lunch of Dutch children. Finding an adequate measure for cognitive performance is hampered by the great variation of previously used measures across studies. These ranged from relatively indirect measures of concentration and disengagement to standardized computerized tests assessing specific cognitive domains such as alertness and higher-level executive functions. Hence, a comprehensive battery of tests would be advisable to explore various potential effects. Power calculations would be needed to determine the sample size of such a study, but it is clear that large numbers of children would be needed, given the small expected effects and methodological challenges. As more than one participating school would be needed, multilevel statistical models would be required to handle grouped and individual children’s data. More research on the effects of a healthy school lunch on cognition in primary school children would be very useful. However, a well-designed study that would provide convincing evidence of the effects of a healthy school lunch on cognitive performance in primary school children, would require a high cost set-up that places a very high burden on both the children and the schools. Therefore, we decided that it is not realistic to perform this study within the Healthy School Lunch project. In this report we would like to share our findings, considerations and recommendations to researchers of future studies on the effect of healthy school lunches on cognitive performance in children

Improving dietary intake during lunch through the provision of a healthy school lunch at Dutch primary schools : Design of a pretest-posttest effectiveness study

Background: Since there is a shift from eating lunch at home to eating lunch at primary schools in the Netherlands, providing a school lunch may be an important opportunity to improve the diet quality of Dutch children. Therefore, the aim of this Healthy School Lunch project is to encourage healthy eating behavior of children at primary schools by offering a healthy school lunch, based on the guidelines for a healthy diet. In this study, two research questions will be addressed. The first research question is: What and how much do children consume from a self-served school lunch and how do they evaluate the lunch? The second research question is: Do children compensate healthier school lunches by eating less healthy outside school hours? The purpose of this paper is to report the rationale and study design of this study. Methods: In the Healthy School Lunch project children in grades 5-8 (aged 8-12 years) of three primary schools in the Netherlands will receive a healthy school lunch for a 6-month period. To answer research question 1, lunch consumption data will be collected at baseline and again at 3- A nd 6-months. This will be measured with lunch photos and questionnaires among children. To answer the second research question, a quasi-experimental, pre-test post-test intervention-comparison group design (3 intervention schools and 3 comparison schools) will be carried out. Potential compensation effects will be measured with a single brief questionnaire among parents at the three intervention and three comparison schools at month 6 of the lunch period. The school lunch will also be evaluated by parents (discussion groups) and teachers and support staff (brief questionnaires). Discussion: Results of this study will provide valuable information to influence future school lunch interventions and policies. Trial registration: This study is registered at the Netherlands trial register (NTR): Trialregister.nl, Trial NL7402 (NTR7618), registered retrospectively at 2018-11-13.</p

Consumer preferences for front-of-pack calories labelling

Objective In light of the emerging obesity pandemic, front-of-pack calories labels may be an important tool to assist consumers in making informed healthier food choices. However, there is little prior research to guide key decisions on whether caloric content should be expressed in absolute terms or relative to recommended daily intake, whether it should be expressed in per serving or per 100 g and whether the information should be further brought alive for consumers in terms of what the extra calorie intake implies in relation to activity levels. The present study aimed at providing more insight into consumers¿ appreciation of front-of-pack labelling of caloric content of food products and their specific preferences for alternative execution formats for such information in Europe. Design For this purpose, eight executions of front-of-pack calorie flags were designed and their appeal and information value were extensively discussed with consumers through qualitative research in four different countries (Germany, The Netherlands, France and the UK). Results The results show that calories are well-understood and that participants were generally positive about front-of-pack flags, particularly when flags are uniform across products. The most liked flags are the simpler flags depicting only the number of calories per serving or per 100 g, while more complex flags including references to daily needs or exercise and the flag including a phrase referring to balanced lifestyle were least preferred. Some relevant differences between countries were observed. Although participants seem to be familiar with the notion of calories, they do not seem to fully understand how to apply them. Conclusion From the results, managerial implications for the design and implementation of front-of-pack calorie labelling as well as important directions for future research are discussed

Served Portion Sizes Affect Later Food Intake Through Social Consumption Norms.

Portion sizes of commercially available foods have increased, and there is evidence that exposure to portion sizes recalibrates what is perceived as 'normal' and subsequently, how much food is selected and consumed. The present study aims to explore the role of social (descriptive and injunctive) and personal portion size norms in this effect. Across two experiments, participants were either visually exposed to (Study 1, N = 329) or actually served (Study 2, N = 132) a smaller or larger than normal food portion. After 24 h, participants reported their intended consumption (Study 1) or served themselves and consumed (Study 2) a portion of that food and reported perceived portion size norms. In Study 1, visual exposure to portion size did not significantly affect intended consumption and perceived portion size norms. In Study 2, participants consumed a smaller portion of food when they were served a smaller rather than a larger portion the previous day, which was mediated by perceived descriptive and injunctive social (but not personal) portion size norms. Results suggest that being served (but not mere visual exposure to) smaller (relative to larger) portions changes perceived social norms about portion size and this may reduce future consumption of that food

Development of food literacy in children and adolescents: implications for the design of strategies to promote healthier and more sustainable diets

Food literacy has emerged as a key individual trait to promote the transformation of food systems toward healthy and sustainable diets. Childhood and adolescence are key periods for establishing the foundations of eating habits. Different food literacy competencies are acquired as children develop different cognitive abilities, skills, and experiences, contributing to the development of critical tools that allow them to navigate a complex food system. Thus, the design and implementation of programs to support the development of food literacy from early childhood can contribute to healthier and more sustainable eating habits. In this context, the aim of the present narrative review is to provide an in-depth description of how different food literacy competencies are developed in childhood and adolescence, integrating the extensive body of evidence on cognitive, social, and food-related development. Implications for the development of multisectoral strategies to target the multidimensional nature of food literacy and promote the development of the 3 types of competencies (relational, functional, and critical) are discussed

Are school meals a viable and sustainable tool to improve the healthiness and sustainability of children´s diet and food consumption? A cross-national comparative perspective

There is little agreement among governments, institutions, scientists and food activists as to how to best tackle the challenging issues of health and sustainability in the food sector. This essay discusses the potential of school meals as a platform to promote healthy and sustainable food behavior. School meal programs are of particular interest for improving public diet because they reach children at a population scale across socio-economic classes and for over a decade of their lives, and because food habits of children are more malleable than those of adults. Current research on the history and health implications of school meal programs is reviewed in a cross-national comparative framework, and arguments explored that speak for the need of a new developmental phase of school meals as an integrative learning platform for healthy and sustainable food behavior. Nutritional, social, practical, educational, economical, political, and cultural perspectives and challenges linked to the implementation of healthy and sustainable school meals are discussed. Finally, the need for long-term interventions and evaluations is highlighted and new research directions are proposed

Bringing down barriers to children’s healthy eating: a critical review of opportunities, within a complex food system

This narrative review revises the scientific evidence of recent years on healthy eating in children and adolescents, making sense of promising avenues of action, from a food system perspective. A conceptual framework is provided to better understand how eating habits of children and adolescents are shaped to identify key multisectoral approaches that should be implemented to promote healthier diets. The following influencing factors are discussed: individual factors (physiological and psychological factors, food preferences and food literacy competencies), factors within the personal and socio-cultural food environments, external food environments, and the supply chain. In each section, the main barriers to healthy eating are briefly discussed focusing on how to overcome them. Finally, a discussion with recommendations of actions is provided, anchored in scientific knowledge, and transferable to the general public, industry, and policymakers. We highlight that multidisciplinary approaches are not enough, a systems approach, with a truly holistic view is needed. Apart from introducing systemic changes, a variety of interventions can be implemented at different levels to foster healthier diets in children, through fostering healthier and more sustainable food environments, facilitating pleasurable sensory experiences, increasing their food literacy, and enhancing their agency by empowering them to make better food related decisions. Acknowledging children as unique individuals is required, through interpersonal interactions, as well as their role in their environments. Actions should aim to enable children and adolescents as active participants within sustainable food systems, to support healthier dietary behaviours that can be sustained throughout life, impacting health at a societal level