Social modeling of low and high energy density starters and desserts
Résumé
Social modeling of food intake is a robust phenomenon but less is known about the modelling of food choices, especially when it comes to choices between items with different energy densities. We conducted an interventional study to examine modeling of low- and high-energy density food choices. Forty women (37 years old +/- 10.76; mean BMI 21.86kg/m² +/- 2.05) came in to eat a meal composed of a main dish, a starter and a dessert. While there was only one main dish available (lasagna), participants could choose a starter and a dessert among four alternatives each (two low energy dense (LE) and two high energy dense (HE)). Each participant came twice and ate with the same confederate who was previously instructed to choose LE items at one session and HE items at the other, both for starters and desserts (condition order was randomly assigned). Neither the energy intake (t-value=-0.30, p-value=0.8), nor the distribution of choices between LE and HE items (starters: McNemar’s chi-squared=0, p-value=1; desserts: McNemar’s chi-squared=0.6, p-value=0.4) were significantly influenced by the condition. A higher energy intake was observed at first visit (t-value=-3.41, p-value=0.002), due to a higher consumption of HE desserts during the first visit. Finally, the probability to choose an item increased significantly with the declared liking (p-value < 0.01). Together, our results suggest that, in this context, the absence of modeling may be due to a lower liking of proposed HE items.
Key words: social modeling, food choice, energy density
Domaines
Alimentation et NutritionOrigine | Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s) |
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