Nature Ambience in a Lunch Restaurant Has the Potential to Evoke Positive Emotions, Reduce Stress, and Support Healthy Food Choices and Sustainable Behavior:A Field Experiment among Finnish Customers

Laboratory experiments have indicated that exposure to restorative ambiences in food environments can lead to beneficial outcomes for consumers, but there is little evidence if this positive effect holds true in real-life consumption conditions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the effects of lunch restaurant ambience on customers’ emotional responses, stress recovery, food choices, and generation of plate waste. The expectation was that ambience inducing positive emotional responses would lead to alleviated stress, healthier food choices, and reduced plate waste. A field experiment with a baseline and two experimental ambiences (‘nature ambience’ to induce positive emotions and ‘fast food ambience’ to induce less positive emotions) including visual and auditory stimuli was conducted in a lunch restaurant for one week per ambience. Emotional responses, and objective and subjective stress were measured from a subgroup of participants (n = 32). Food choices and plate waste were measured for all customers (n = 1610–1805 depending on the study week). During ‘nature ambience’ week, customers more often chose vegetarian dishes and generated less plate waste. The results on emotional responses and stress recovery were partially in line with the expectations. The study provides real-life evidence that restaurant ambience modification could lead to beneficial consequences for customers

Meat- and plant-based products induced similar satiation which was not affected by multimodal augmentation

Little is known about how plant-based products influence satiation compared to corresponding meat-based products. As augmented reality (AR) intensifies sensory experiences, it was hypothesized to improve satiation. This study compared satiation between intake of meatballs and plant-based balls and plant-based balls intensified with AR for visual, olfactory, and haptic sensory properties. Intake order of the meatballs, plant-based balls, and augmented plant-based balls, eaten on separate days, was randomized. Satiation was measured from twenty-eight non-obese adults as ad libitum intake of the balls and extra snacks, and as subjective appetite sensations. Liking and wanting to eat the products were also investigated.There were no differences between the products in satiation. Before tasting the augmented plant-based balls were less liked than the meatballs (p = 0.002) or plant-based balls (p = 0.046), but after eating the first ball or eating the ad libitum number of balls the differences in liking disappeared. Wanting evaluations were similar for each product and decreased during eating (p < 0.001). A group of participants susceptible to AR was found (n = 11), described by decreased intake when augmentation was applied. Among the sub-group, wanting to eat the augmented balls was lower before tasting (p = 0.019) and after eating the first ball (p = 0.002) and appetite was less suppressed after eating the balls ad libitum (p = 0.01), when compared to non-susceptible participants.We conclude that meatballs and plant-based balls were equal in inducing satiation, and multisensory augmentation did not influence satiation. However, the augmentation decreased liking evaluations before tasting. Further studies are needed to explore differences between consumer groups in susceptibility to augmentation

Effectiveness of workplace choice architecture modification for healthy eating and daily physical activity

Background: Modifying the choice architecture of behavioural contexts can facilitate health behaviour change, but existing evidence builds mostly on small-scale interventions limited in duration, targets, strategies, and settings. We evaluated the effectiveness of a one-year hybrid type 2 implementation-effectiveness trial aimed at promoting healthy eating and daily physical activity with subtle modifications to the choice architecture of heterogeneous worksites. The intervention was contextualised to and integrated into the routine operations of each worksite. Effectiveness was evaluated in a quasi-experimental pre-post design. Methods: Intervention sites (n = 21) implemented a median of two (range 1–9) intervention strategies for healthy eating and one (range 1–5) for physical activity. Questionnaires pre (n = 1126) and post (n = 943) intervention surveyed employees’ behavioural patterns at work (food consumption: vegetables/roots, fruit/berries, nuts/almonds/seeds, sweet treats, fast food, water; physical activity: restorative movement, exercise equipment use, stair use). The post-intervention questionnaire also measured employees’ perception of and response to three intervention strategies: a packed lunch recipe campaign, a fruit crew-strategy, and movement prompts. Multi- and single-level regression models evaluated effectiveness, treating intervention as a continuous predictor formed of the site-specific dose (n intervention strategies employed) and mean quality (three-point rating per strategy halfway and at the end of the intervention) of implementation relevant to each outcome. Results: Multinomial logistic regression models found the intervention significantly associated with a favourable change in employees’ fruit and berry consumption (interaction effect of time and implementation p = 0.006) and with an unfavourable change in sweet treat consumption (p = 0.048). The evidence was strongest for the finding concerning fruit/berry consumption—an outcome that sites with greater dose and quality of implementation targeted by using strategies that reduced the physical effort required to have fruit/berries at work and by covering multiple eating-related contexts at the worksite. The quality of implementation was positively associated with the perception of (p = 0.044) and response to (p = 0.017) the packed lunch recipes, and with response to the fruit crew-strategy (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The results suggest that a contextualised, multicomponent choice architecture intervention can positively influence eating behaviour in diverse real-world settings over a one-year period, and that higher implementation quality can enhance intervention perception and response. However, outcomes may depend on the type of intervention strategies used and the extent of their delivery.Peer reviewe

5S Approach for Streamlining ERP Product Data and Structures

In an ever-evolving market, companies are forced to leverage software solutions to support the daily operations and drive efficiency. While the need for continuous improvement in operations is recognized, it has been discovered that small and medium size companies are struggling with utilization of an enterprise resource planning software. The thesis studies the current state of the enterprise resource planning software utilization on daily operations, and the management of daily operations in both shopfloor and enterprise resource planning software’s environment. The study is based on a case company, and the study included qualitative research through observation study to understand the phenomenon in daily operations, root cause analysis based on observational findings, and further theory of product data management, change management, quality management and plan-do-check-act cycles adapted as part of the software enhancement streamlining 5S method. The primary goal was to ensure software functionality, optimize its utilization for enhanced efficiency, instil commitment to new operational methodologies among personnel, while maintaining a focus towards quality standards. The results of the thesis suggest that lack of knowledge caused inefficiencies throughout the organizations operations, and that by 5S implementation the company can decrease data up to 49% inside the software. The solution developed included combined model of people and quality management, and the implementation of 5S enhancing the theories and methods presented in the work

Oats as a source of nutritious alternative protein

The common oat (Avena sativa) is a widely-grown cereal grain that has recently garnered attention as a potential source of innovative and alternative foods to replace animal protein. This review article considers the many characteristics of oat-based foods, focusing on oat protein quality and the nutritional effects of oat protein consumption. We first summarize the role of oats as a sustainable alternative protein source before considering dry and wet separation technologies for the enrichment or isolation of oat protein. We then discuss oat protein, including technological properties such as solubility, foaming, emulsification, gelling, and fibrillation capacity, which predict its applicability in diverse liquid and solid foods. We emphasize the potential of oats as a plant-based protein source for the design of innovative dairy and meat alternatives. The review also discusses oat protein quality, particularly its protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score compared to other plant-based protein sources, and insights related to the functionalization oat protein for improved performance. Finally, we consider the ability of oat protein to enable a dietary shift, including knowledge gaps and avenues for future research. This review consolidates existing knowledge on oats and oat protein, providing a comprehensive understanding of technological functionality, applicability in diverse food categories, nutritional potential, protein quality, and associated health benefits

Effect of virtual eating environment on consumers' evaluations of healthy and unhealthy snacks

acceptedVersionPeer reviewe