Comparison of sensory, physiological, personality, and cultural attributes in regular spicy food users and non-users

Some individuals savor spicy foods, while others avoid them. Reasons underlying this range of hedonic responses are unknown. The purpose of this study was to explore the basis for individual differences in preference for spicy foods. Regular spicy food users ( n= 13) and non-users (n= 12) were characterized for selected sensory, physiological, personality, and cultural attributes. Individual differences between users and non-users were primarily related to sensory and cultural attributes (i.e., a higher proportion of users reported consuming spicy foods since childhood and users rated spicy foods as more palatable and were better able to discriminate this burn than non-users). Users and non-users exhibited comparable responsiveness to noxious pressure pain, oral tactile sensitivity, and auditory sensitivity, varying only in responsiveness to oral thermal heat (i.e., users were more sensitive to increases than non-users). Studied personality traits did not vary between users and non-users. These findings suggest that prior experience, rather than physiological adaptation or personality differences, may best predict preference for spicy foods. These findings are of public health interest, given that spicy food consumption is reported to confer weight management and food safety benefits

Noxious stimuli sensitivity in regular spicy food users and non-users: Comparison of visual analog and general labeled magnitude scaling

The visual analog scale (VAS) and the general labeled magnitude scale (gLMS) are common response formats for assessing chemosensory sensation. The gLMS is recommended when comparing sensations between individuals whose perceptual experiences vary in a manner that may not be accurately captured on the VAS. This may occur when one group has a wider range of perceived intensity (e.g., bitterness in 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) tasters and non-tasters). The purpose of this study was to compare responses generated by the VAS and the gLMS following exposure to chemical, thermal, tactile, and auditory stimuli at intensity levels encountered in daily activities. Subjects were 25 healthy, lean men and women (13 regular spicy food users and 12 non-users). PROP taster prevalence was equal among regular spicy food users and non-users. Replicating a well-documented phenomenon, the slope of the function describing the growth of sensation with stimulus strength was greater for PROP in tasters than non-tasters (41.4% and 7.6% gLMS usage, respectively). The slope was greater with the VAS compared to the gLMS for all other noxious stimuli (50.1% and 29.3% scale usage, respectively). However, the slopes of both scales were moderately to highly correlated both within (all subjects) and between groups (users versus non-users and men versus women; most \u3e0.65). These findings suggest that scale selection is context-dependent. While the VAS and the gLMS generated similar results after exposure to potentially noxious stimuli at concentrations likely to be experienced in daily life, the gLMS is more appropriate when ratings of stimuli perceived as extreme are expected

Validation of Self-Reported Anthropometrics in Female College Freshmen

International Journal of Exercise Science 9(1): 47-55, 2016. Most investigations concerning the validity of self-reported anthropometrics focus on weight, height, and body mass index. This study extends those investigations by exploring the impact of self-reporting bias on the disease risk indicators of waist circumference and body fat percentage. Female college freshmen (n=128) self-reported weight and height, then underwent measurements for weight, height, waist circumference, and body fat percentage. Self-reporting bias was defined as self-reported minus directly-assessed anthropometric value. Despite no differences in self-reported versus directly-assessed weight or height for the total group, students with high waist circumference and excess fat under-reported their weight by 2.3±4.4 lb (p\u3c0.05). Self-reporting bias was negatively correlated with waist circumference (r=-0.362; p\u3c0.001) and body fat percentage (r=-0.317; p\u3c0.001). Although many female college freshmen accurately represent their weight, those with excess fat and waist circumference under-reported their weight. This may lead to missed opportunities for risk identification, prevention, and intervention

Comparison of Body Composition Assessment Techniques in Women’s Collegiate Swimmers and Divers

Poster from the 2019 Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo. Poster Session: Professional Skills; Nutrition Assessment & Diagnosis; Medical Nutrition Therapy

Body Composition Assessment in Masters Level Swimmers

Body composition of collegiate swimmers has been extensively studied; however, there are limited reports of body composition among Masters swimmers. This study compared the accuracy of air displacement plethysmography (ADP) and bioelectrical impedance (BIA) to the gold standard method of underwater weighing (UWW) in Masters level swimmers. The relationship between percent body fat (%BF) and body mass index (BMI) was also assessed. Recruitment (n = 6 females, 11 males) occurred at two Masters swim clubs. Pearson correlation coefficients revealed no significant differences between ADP, BIA, and UWW (p \u3e 0.05). For both female and male Masters swimmers, the mean %BF was in the healthy range (30.4 ± 11.7% female, 21.3 ± 8.0% male); however, BMI was in the overweight range (27.0 ± 7.2 kg/m2 female, 26.4 ± 4.8 kg/m2 male). These findings suggest that while ADP, BIA, and UWW were comparable methods for assessing %BF in Masters swimmers, BMI did not adequately represent body composition and health risk for Masters swimmers

The Influence of Modest Weight Gain on Taste and Smell Acuity in College Freshmen

Poster from the 2016 Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo. Poster Session: Food/Nutrition Science; Education; Management; Food Services/Culinary; Research

The Effect of Occupational Stress on Participant Success in a Worksite Weight Loss Program

Poster from the 2016 Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo. Poster Session: Professional Skills; Nutrition Assessment; Medical Nutrition Therapy

A Humanities-Based Explanation for the Effects of Emotional Eating and Perceived Stress on Food Choice Motives during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Perceived stress affects emotional eating and food choices. However, the extent to which stress associates with food choice motives is not completely understood. This study assessed whether emotional eating mediates the associations between perceived stress levels and food choice motives (i.e., health, mood, convenience, natural content, price, sensory appeal, familiarities, weight control, and ethical concerns) during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic. A total of 800 respondents were surveyed in the United States in June 2020. Their perceived stress, emotional eating, and food choice motives were assessed by the Perceived Stress Scale, Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire, and Food Choice Questionnaire, respectively. Moderate to high levels of perceived stress were experienced by the majority (73.6%) of respondents. Perceived stress was significantly correlated with emotional eating ( = 0.26) as well as five out of nine food choice motives: mood ( = 0.32), convenience ( = 0.28), natural content ( = -0.14), price ( = 0.27), and familiarity ( = 0.15). Emotional eating was significantly correlated with four out of nine food choice motives: mood ( = 0.27), convenience ( = 0.23), price ( = 0.16), and familiarity ( = 0.16). The mediation analyses showed that emotional eating mediates the associations between perceived stress and five food choices motives: mood, convenience, sensory appeal, price, and familiarity. Findings were interpreted using theories and concepts from the humanities, specifically, folklore studies, ritual studies, and symbolic anthropology