The environment influences whether high-fat foods are associated with palatable or with unhealthy

This study investigated whether relatively automatic evaluations of food differ between situations and between obese people and lean controls. These evaluations were assessed in the affective priming paradigm (APP)—a response latency based measure for associations. In Experiment 1, we either focused...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behaviour research and therapy 2006-05, Vol.44 (5), p.715-736
Main Authors: Roefs, A., Quaedackers, L., Werrij, M.Q., Wolters, G., Havermans, R., Nederkoorn, C., van Breukelen, G., Jansen, A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Affective priming paradigm
Attitude to Health
Automatic evaluation
Biological and medical sciences
Dietary Fats - administration & dosage
Eating attitudes
Environment
Female
Food
Food Preferences - psychology
Health
Health Behavior
Humans
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Miscellaneous
Obesity
Obesity - psychology
Oils & fats
Pilot Projects
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Restaurants
Taste
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Summary:This study investigated whether relatively automatic evaluations of food differ between situations and between obese people and lean controls. These evaluations were assessed in the affective priming paradigm (APP)—a response latency based measure for associations. In Experiment 1, we either focused participants (33 obese and 26 lean controls) on the palatability (restaurant condition) or on the healthiness (health condition) of food, prior to the APP. Independent of weight-status, relatively automatic evaluations of food were based on palatability in the restaurant condition, and on health in the health condition. So, the current focus of attention can shape the way foods are evaluated relatively automatically. In Experiment 2, craving was induced in participants (27 obese and 29 lean controls). Unexpectedly, the craving induction did not achieve its goal of focusing on the palatability of food in general, but just for low-fat foods, possibly because of the health-emphasizing environment—a hospital. Interestingly, obese people showed a stronger palatability priming effect with increasing levels of initial craving. For normal weight controls the effect was in the same direction, but missed significance. In our environment, palatability of food may be too salient, and health may not be salient enough, influencing automatic food-evaluations.
ISSN:0005-7967
1873-622X
DOI:10.1016/j.brat.2005.05.007