Appetite最新文献

Reducing meat consumption has the potential to improve both population and planetary health, however approaches to this have not been fully explored, particularly in the British Muslim community. British Muslims consume more meat than the average British person and face disproportionate diet related health risks. Although reducing meat consumption and eating more plant-based is known to reduce such health risks, there is limited understanding of British Muslim perceptions of this dietary transition. This study explored the barriers and facilitators towards British Muslims reducing meat consumption by increasing consumption of plant-based foods. The qualitative study involved semi-structured interviews with 15 British Muslims from Greater Manchester. Interviews were inductively analysed using reflexive thematic analysis and then deductively mapped to Michie et al.'s (2014) COM-B model. Two themes were identified. "Islamic Teachings and Food Choices" highlighted how Islamic teachings and practices gave religious significance to meat and taught foundational ethics that could encourage plant-based diets identified as reflective motivation influences. "The Value of Meat" explored perceptions of the elevated status of meat, influenced by beliefs about health, socio-economic status, and sociocultural norms. Social opportunity and reflective motivation were key influences identified in this theme. This study emphasised the importance of culturally relevant dietary interventions considering religious beliefs and community norms.

Large portions contribute to excess consumption. We tested whether a portion size labeling intervention influenced consumers to select smaller lunch portions. Two cafés introduced a reduced-sized main course (half the original size and ∼30% lower in price), January-May 2024. Cafés were randomized to a portion labeling intervention or control. During the baseline and follow-up periods, the reduced size was called "Small" and the original "Large" in both cafés. During the intervention period, labels remained unchanged in the control; the intervention café relabeled the reduced size "Standard" and retained "Large" for the original size. The primary outcome was average kcal per main course purchased. Secondary outcomes were: 1) average kcal per transaction; 2) number of main courses purchased; and 3) gross sales. We also examined whether introducing a reduced-sized main course irrespective of the labeling intervention was associated with 1) average kcal per transaction, and 2) sales during the study compared to 2023. Cafés sold 2,940 reduced-sized and 8,587 original-sized main courses. Average kcal per main course purchased (DID -7.5 kcal [95%CI: -25.8, 10.7]) and kcal per transaction (DID -21.6 kcal [95%CI: -46.6, 3.3]) did not significantly differ compared to the control during the intervention. Regardless of portion labels, transactions with a reduced-sized vs. original-sized main course had 405 fewer kcal (95%CI: -414.7, -396.1). Average weekly gross sales increased by $3,131 (95%CI: 2,098, 4,164) in 2024 vs. 2023. The labeling intervention did not reduce kcal purchased, but offering reduced sizes regardless of labeling lowered kcal per transaction and did not harm sales.

Against the backdrop of China's plan to promote front-of-package (FoP) nutrition labelling under the Healthy China Initiative (2019-2030), evidence on the behavioral effects of different FoP formats among Chinese consumers remains limited, particularly for Generation Z. To address this gap, this study compared four widely used FoP label systems, Traffic Light Label, Chile Warning Labels, Healthier Choice Symbol, and Nutri-Score, on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) choices among urban Generation Z consumers in Beijing. A randomized controlled virtual supermarket experiment was conducted, in which 207 eligible participants were randomly assigned to one of five conditions (No-FoP control and four FoP formats). Shopping-cart nutritional outcomes were compared across conditions using non-parametric analyses. The results showed that warning labels were associated with the healthiest shopping-cart profiles, reflected in lower overall nutritional quality scores, energy, and sugar content, followed by Nutri-Score. In contrast, Traffic Light Labels and Healthier Choice Symbol did not significantly differ from the control condition. Subgroup analyses further indicated that FoP label effects varied according to self-estimated nutrition knowledge and healthy eating attitudes, highlighting meaningful heterogeneity in consumer responses. Together, these findings provide behavioral evidence that FoP label effectiveness depends on both label format and consumer characteristics, thereby extending the information processing framework of Grunert and Wills (2007) in the context of Chinese Generation Z. From a policy perspective, we recommend prioritizing warning labels and graded summary indicators for high-risk food categories such as SSBs within a phased, evidence-based FoP implementation strategy.

This study examined the psychosocial factors influencing consumers' acceptance of legume-enriched foods, a "low-disruption" innovation that reformulates familiar staples with legume ingredients. Using structural equation modeling on a nationally representative sample (N = 1905), we tested a Multicomponent Food Choice Model encompassing cognitive, emotional, social, behavioral, motivational, and moral dimensions. In the cognitive dimension, attitude emerged as a unified evaluation (with highly correlated affective and cognitive facets) predicting intention. Awareness of environmental consequences had a negative direct effect on willingness to pay but a positive indirect effect through the moral pathway. Positive anticipated emotions predicted intention, while negative anticipated emotions were linked to willingness to pay. In the social dimension, perceived norms predicted intention but not willingness to pay. In the behavioral dimension, perceived control supported intention but not payment, and prior experience with legumes and reformulated products distinguished readiness from financial engagement. In the motivational dimension, health and sustainability motives enhanced attitude and, in turn, both intention and willingness to pay, whereas price and sensory appeal motives were negatively associated with attitude and willingness to pay. Within the moral dimension, a sequence from awareness to personal norm via ascription of responsibility was observed. Personal norm predicted willingness to pay but not intention. Overall, acceptance followed two complementary routes: affective-social processes drove behavioral intention, while moral and value-based processes, tempered by price sensitivity and experience, underpinned financial engagement. These findings highlight actionable levers for communication strategies aimed at fostering uptake and acceptance of novel foods.

Emotional eating refers to the consumption of food in response to pleasant or unpleasant emotions. This behavior has frequently been linked to emotional dysregulation; however, the results obtained are inconsistent. Therefore, the aim of this meta-analytic study was to conduct a meta-analysis to synthesize the available evidence on the relationship between broad emotional dysregulation and emotional eating, as well as to identify possible moderators of this association. A systematic search was conducted in March 2025 in the following databases: Scopus, Web of Science, APA PsycInfo, and APA PsycArticles. Inclusion criteria comprised quantitative studies published in English or Spanish, analyzing the broad emotional dysregulation-emotional eating relationship, and reporting sufficient data to extract effect sizes. This systematic search yielded 40 studies and 42 samples (N = 14,481; M_age = 26.8; SD_age = 11.6; 67.8% females). The results revealed a positive, moderate association between broad emotional dysregulation and emotional eating (r_pooled = .337 [.279, .396]). The valence of emotional eating and sample type emerged as relevant moderators. The association was stronger when focusing on studies that exclusively analyzed negative emotional eating (r_pooled = .286 [.226, .345]) and became non-significant for studies addressing positive emotional eating (r_pooled = .055 [-.113, .220]). Moreover, the links were stronger for non-clinical samples as compared to clinical ones. This review helps to better understand the association between broad emotional dysregulation and emotional eating and will contribute to preventing and intervening on this problem by developing new and more effective preventive and therapeutic strategies.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is frequently accompanied by feeding difficulties that can affect both a child's nutritional intake and family's well-being. Using a cross-sectional correlational design, this study explored how parenting stress, ASD symptom severity, and parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and overprotective) relate to eating behaviours, particularly food fussiness and satiety responsiveness. Sixty-nine parents of children with ASD aged 2-9 were recruited from a private therapy centre and a foundation providing psychosocial and educational support in Istanbul, Türkiye. Parents reported stress using the Parental Stress Scale, parenting style using the Parent Attitude Scale, and children's eating behaviours using the Children's Eating Behaviour Questionnaire. Parents also rated their child's ASD symptom severity on a single Likert-scale item developed for this study. Hierarchical regressions revealed that parental stress, symptom severity and parenting style did not predict food fussiness or satiety responsiveness. However, we found patterns suggesting associations between parenting style and children's eating behaviours. In particular, higher levels of authoritarian parenting were associated with lower enjoyment of food, whereas more overprotective parenting was associated with greater food enjoyment. The discussion considers how culture-specific norms may shape the relationship between parenting style and children's eating behaviours.

Early difficulties in the regulation of emotion, sleep and eating are common in early childhood and may shape developmental pathways of eating behaviours and weight. Understanding these pathways is key to identifying modifiable targets for promoting healthy eating and growth. This systematic review aimed to synthesise available evidence linking regulatory problems (RPs) of emotion, sleeping, and eating in early childhood to feeding, eating, and weight outcomes and evaluate methodological quality and level of evidence using the National Institutes of Health Quality Assessment Tool and best evidence synthesis. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO for studies published in English from inception to September 2025. Eligible studies included children aged 3-36 months with a measure of RP and either parental feeding practice, child eating behaviour, or weight. Methodological quality was assessed, and a narrative synthesis undertaken. Thirty-eight studies were eligible for inclusion. Most were of moderate quality (n = 33). According to best evidence synthesis, there was insufficient level of evidence for associations between emotion regulation and feeding, eating, and weight. There was moderate level of evidence for a cross-sectional association between sleep problems and eating behaviour, and of no association with weight. There was moderate level of evidence for an association between eating problems and feeding and weight. This review provides novel evidence that, while eating problems in early childhood are linked to feeding practices and weight, the evidence is less clear on the role of emotion and sleep regulation difficulties in shaping these trajectories. By highlighting early childhood as a critical yet underexplored period, our findings underscore the need for high-quality longitudinal research with homogeneous methodology to clarify whether early-life RPs represent modifiable intervention targets supporting healthy feeding, eating, and weight. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42023463391.

While food variety has been shown to affect intake when predetermined meals are served, such studies do not indicate how variety affects food choices when participants can select individual foods to build their meal. We examined whether increasing food variety in an immersive virtual reality (iVR) buffet affects the amount and types of food selected. In a randomized crossover design, 50 adults (18-65 yr, 32 females) selected foods for a meal once a week for 3 weeks. The number of available foods varied across 3 conditions - low, medium, and high - which corresponded to 9, 18, and 27 foods respectively. The variety of both higher and lower energy-dense options increased proportionally across variety conditions. Increasing the variety of foods had a significant effect on food and energy selection (p < 0.001). Participants selected an additional 286 g (422 kcal) in the medium variety condition and 301 g (649 kcal) in the high variety condition when compared to the low variety condition (all p < 0.001). As variety increased, participants selected a greater number of total foods, which was primarily driven by higher energy-dense foods compared to lower energy-dense foods (all p < 0.05). The proportion of higher energy-dense foods selected increased from 47 % in the low variety condition, to 51 % in the medium (p = 0.03), and 55 % in high (p < 0.001). These findings suggest that the wide variety of foods available in our eating environment can influence the amount of food and energy selected for meal consumption.

Communication campaigns have the potential to enhance the effectiveness of nutritional warnings by encouraging consumers to take this information into account during the decision-making process. This study aimed to assess how three types of messages (gain-framed, loss-framed, and neutral) influence the relative importance of high-in labels on food choices, compared to other packaging elements. A total of 1043 Brazilian adults were recruited by a marketing agency. A randomized controlled trial was conducted, in which participants were randomly allocated to one of four experimental groups: control (n = 259), gain-framed message (n = 271), loss-framed message (n = 263), and neutral message (n = 250). They completed a choice-conjoint task involving packages of two product categories: ice cream and cream cheese. The packages were designed considering three factors: high-in label (present vs. absent), sensory claim (present vs. absent), and brand (familiar vs. unfamiliar). Participants were shown eight pairs of packages for each product categories and were asked to indicate which product they would purchase, with the option to select "None" available. Data were analyzed using mixed logit models. Exposure to the messages increased the relative importance of high-in labels, particularly in the gain-framed condition, while reducing the influence of brand and sensory claims. However, brand and sensory claims were the most relevant factors influencing participants' choices across all experimental conditions. These results suggest that message framing can amplify the impact of high-in labels, especially when positively framed, and underscores the need for complementary policies to strengthen the effectiveness and reach of high-in labels.