Tempting Food Research Articles

Healthful Food Decision Making in Response to Traffic Light Color-Coded Nutrition Labeling

This article investigates whether traffic light color-coded nutrition information helps low- (vs. high-) self-control consumers make more healthful food choices within a given product category. Two in-store lab studies assess the effects of traffic light colors. The colors indicate low (green), medium (amber), and high (red) levels of four negative food nutrients (sugar, fat, saturated fat, and salt). The color-coding was implemented on nutrition labeling schemes shown on the front of actual food packages (pasta meals in Study 1; cereal bars in Study 2). Consumers with low self-control to resist food temptations, but not those with high self-control, make more healthful food choices in response to the color-coded labeling. The behavior is congruent with their long-term goals of controlling their food choices and is evident when traffic light colors vary between both nutrients and products (Study 1) and when traffic light colors vary between nutrients but not products (Study 2). The authors derive theoretical implications and draw conclusions from the perspectives of public policy, retailing, and manufacturers.

The Vicious Cycle of Dieting Failures: The Active-Self Account of the Priming Effect on Unsuccessful Dieters

Considerable research in dieting has examined the goal priming effect that promotes dieting. However, priming literature found that the process of which priming is led to behaviors involves not only the priming construct itself but the momentary self-concept activated by the priming. Based on this notion, studies examined whether the active self-concept as an dieter or successful dieter determines the priming-to-behavior effect in dieting. Study 1 used contexts of the prime as manipulation for participants` active-self following the prime and measured their chronic self-concept in dieting (rated on the Perceived Self-Regulation Success [PSRS] in dieting scale) as a moderator. The result supported the active-self account for the effect of the dieting prime. The interaction of the PSRS scores and the priming contexts was found in the dieting behavior of participants. Participants whose chronic self-concept in dieting is unsuccessful (the low PSRS) showed the goal-congruent priming effect only in the condition where the priming context reminded them of their self-concept in favor of dieting success. In the context where their dieting failure in the past became salient, however, the participants with the low PSRS were more likely to succumb to tempting food. In contrast, eating behaviors of the high PSRS participants were independent of the contexts. Study 2 tested a possible mechanism from the active-self to the behaviors. It is concluded that the active-self operates in the priming process by influencing anticipatory thoughts rather than automatic responses toward foods. The implications for understanding repeated dieting failures and designing practical interventions to help dieters are discussed.

Resisting temptation of unhealthy food: interaction between temptation-elicited goal activation and self-control

Counteractive control theory suggests that the cognitive accessibility of a goal in response to a temptation cue predicts self-regulation of behaviour consistent with that goal. The current study provided a novel test of this effect in the eating domain, exploring the moderating role of trait self-control. A sample of 124 women (18–25 years) completed a lexical decision task to assess cognitive accessibility of the weight-management goal after food temptation priming. Eating self-regulation was operationalised as unhealthy snack food intake measured in a task disguised as a taste-test. Participants completed trait self-control and temptation experience intensity measures. Cognitive accessibility predicted lower food intake, but only among high self-control participants. The relationship was mediated by temptation experience intensity: participants with high cognitive accessibility felt less tempted, and subsequently ate less food. Results suggest that changing the processes underlying the temptation experience, rather than the cognitive accessibility of a goal may more effectively enhance self-regulation among low self-control individuals.

Eating behavior, restraint status, and BMI of individuals high and low in perceived self-regulatory success

The Perceived Self-Regulatory Success (PSRS) scale was developed to assess self-reported success at dieting and has been used to differentiate between successful and unsuccessful dieters (Fishbach, Friedman, & Kruglanski, 2003). We re-analyzed data from seventeen studies in order to examine whether PSRS predicted in-lab eating behavior of restrained and unrestrained eaters. We also explored the relation between body mass index, restraint, current dieting, and responding on the PSRS scale. It was found that successful dieters do not necessarily eat less than do unsuccessful dieters when a tempting food is available. Additionally, individuals who considered themselves to be successful dieters were more likely to be unrestrained eaters and current non-dieters than restrained eaters and current dieters. However, regardless of restraint status, individuals high in PSRS had lower BMI than those low in PSRS. These findings suggest that those who score high on the PSRS scale may not be concerned with regulating eating and weight. However, the restrained eaters who do score high on the PSRS scale appear to be successful at controlling their weight, despite not eating less in the lab.

Resistance reminders: Dieters reduce energy intake after exposure to diet-congruent food images compared to control non-food images

Dieters’ long term goals to lose weight often fail in the short term due to hedonic temptations. Restrained eating coupled with disinhibition can lead to overconsumption when highly palatable foods are available. In contrast, it is predicted that exposure to diet-congruent food cues remind dieters of their long term diet goals and prompt short term regulation of food intake. To test this prediction, a between-subjects study involving female dieters (n=26) and non-dieters (n=41) was conducted with brief exposure to diet-congruent or neutral non-food images (23ms) before a tempting snack. Subsequent diet-cognitions using a lexical decision task and intake of tempting snacks were measured. Results showed that dieters exposed to diet-congruent images consumed less energy than dieters exposed to control images. In addition, high restrained high disinhibited participants reduced energy intake after exposure to diet-congruent compared to control images. There were no differences in dieters’ reaction times to diet words across conditions in the lexical decision task. The results suggest that diet-congruent cues might act as effective reminders to limit intake in those most vulnerable to food temptations. Future research should examine the efficacy of such cues for longer term weight control.

Using health primes to reduce unhealthy snack purchases among overweight consumers in a grocery store

Objective:Healthy-eating intentions of overweight individuals are often thwarted by the presence of attractive food temptations in grocery stores and the home environment. To support healthy-eating intentions, we tested the effectiveness of a simple health prime to reduce the purchases of energy-dense snack foods in a grocery store among overweight individuals.Design:This field experiment had a 2 (condition: health prime vs control) × 2 (weight status: overweight vs normal weight) between-participants design.Method:Customers of a grocery store were handed a recipe flyer that either contained a health and diet prime, or not. Participants' weight and height, as well as their attention to and awareness of the prime during shopping, were assessed by means of a questionnaire. The purchase of unhealthy snack foods was assessed by means of the receipt.Results:Results showed that the health prime reduced snack purchases compared with the control condition among overweight and obese participants. When primed, overweight and obese participants bought almost 75% fewer snacks than when not primed. Additional analyses showed that although the prime worked only when customers paid initial attention to the flyer that contained the health prime, no conscious awareness of the prime during grocery shopping was necessary for these effects.Conclusion:These findings suggest that health priming can lead to healthier grocery shopping among overweight consumers, without relying on conscious awareness during shopping. This makes priming a highly viable intervention tool to facilitate healthy food choices. Such tools are especially relevant in the setting of grocery shopping, given that they have direct effects on eating in the home environment and thus for longer-term weight management.

If it's good it must be bad: The indirect effect of temptation strength on self-control through perceived unhealthiness

Previous research has shown that people tend to consume less from foods they consider more tempting. However, the underlying mechanism for these counterintuitive findings is still unknown. The current paper is the first to test the theoretically implied suggestion that the effect of food temptation strength on consumption is indirect and can be explained through temptations' perceived unhealthiness. Two studies were conducted among female students who were concerned about their weight to test the effect of food temptation strength on perceived unhealthiness as well as the amount that was consumed of the products. Results showed that temptation strength was associated with unhealthiness such that weak temptations were — unjustly — perceived to be less unhealthy compared to strong temptations, while perceived unhealthiness was negatively related to indulgence. As a consequence, people may consume more from weak than from strong temptations. It is concluded that weak temptations tend to be underestimated and can be more challenging for successful self-regulation than strong temptations.

‘I deserve a treat!’: Justifications for indulgence undermine the translation of intentions into action

The present research explores how justifications for indulgence influence the translation of 'good' intentions into action. Three studies investigated the nature of such justifications and their relation to indulgence. Study 1 identified six ways that people justify indulgence to themselves - that they are deserving or curious, that the indulgence is an exception to the norm or can be compensated for later, or that the tempting food is available or irresistible. Study 2 showed that the use of justifications undermined participants' strong (but not weak) intentions to halve their consumption of a nominated high-fat food. Study 3 found that priming the use of justifications increased the amount of chocolate that participants consumed in a subsequent, ostensibly unrelated, taste test. Again, justification use had a greater effect on participants with strong intentions to limit indulgence. Taken together, the studies suggest a new approach to understanding intention-behaviour discrepancies.

Eating by example. Effects of environmental cues on dietary decisions

Objective: The present studies examined the role of environmental cues in steering people’s dietary decisions in response to food temptations. Based on the notion that people show a tendency to conform to eating standards derived from the eating behavior of others, it was hypothesized that communication of other people’s dietary decisions through environmental cues affect whether and what people eat. Methods: Conformity to environmental cues about food intake was assessed in a local bakery (Study 1, N=144) and a lab setting (Study 2, N=65). Participants were unobtrusively presented with a bowl of individually wrapped chocolates. The presence of empty wrappers was manipulated, to indicate whether others who had been in the same situation had or had not eaten. Conformity to environmental cues about food choice was assessed in Study 3 (N=90). Participants were required to choose between a healthy and an unhealthy snack. Food wrappers indicated whether previous participants had chosen the healthy or the unhealthy snack. Results: As expected, participants were more likely to take chocolates in the presence of an environmental cue that others did too. Also, participants were more likely to choose a snack that was consistent with the choice of others. Conclusions: Together, these findings support our main hypothesis that environmental cues steer people’s decisions concerning food intake and food choice. Moreover, the results suggest that only small changes in the environment may support healthy eating behavior.

Allured or alarmed: Counteractive control responses to food temptations in the brain

Typically, it is believed that palatable, high caloric foods signal reward and trigger indulgent responses. However, Counteractive Control Theory suggests that, to the extent that people are concerned about their weight, a confrontation with palatable foods should also trigger ‘alarm bell responses’ which promote successful self-control. Our study is the first to investigate such counteractive control processes in the brain employing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a sample of successful self-regulators. Indeed, besides the traditional finding that foods elicit heightened attention as witnessed by greater activation of primary visual cortex, we found that viewing palatable foods elicited brain activation in areas associated with self-regulation. Crucially, brain activation in self-regulation areas was related to diet importance. Thus, our results are the first to show that food cues not only evoke hedonic brain responses; in successful self-regulators they also trigger alarm bell responses, which may reflect the neural processes underlying successful self-control.

Pre-exposure to diet-congruent food reduces energy intake in restrained dieting women

Dietary restriction often fails in the face of tempting and palatable foods; however there is evidence that exposure to diet-congruent cues, such as foods associated with ‘slimming’ may facilitate control over food intake. The present study examined the effect of exposure to a diet-congruent food on subsequent energy intake in active dieters. Using a within-subjects design, restrained eaters who were currently on a diet (n=13) and unrestrained non-dieters (n=21) were exposed to a tempting food cue (chocolate) and a diet-congruent food cue (fruit orange) on two separate testing sessions, and subsequent snack intake was measured. Unrestrained non-dieters consumed similar amounts of snack food across conditions, whilst restrained dieters consumed 60% less chocolate (kcal) after exposure to the diet cue compared to the tempting cue. Exposure to a diet-congruent food cues may help dieters control energy intake when tempted by palatable food.

Tempting food words activate eating simulations

This study shows that tempting food words activate simulations of eating the food, including simulations of the taste and texture of the food, simulations of eating situations, and simulations of hedonic enjoyment. In a feature listing task, participants generated features that are typically true of four tempting foods (e.g., chips) and four neutral foods (e.g., rice). The resulting features were coded as features of eating simulations if they referred to the taste, texture, and temperature of the food (e.g., “crunchy”; “sticky”), to situations of eating the food (e.g., “movie”; “good for Wok dishes”), and to the hedonic experience when eating the food (e.g., “tasty”). Based on the grounded cognition perspective, it was predicted that tempting foods are more likely to be represented in terms of actually eating them, so that participants would list more features referring to eating simulations for tempting than for neutral foods. Confirming this hypothesis, results showed that eating simulation features constituted 53% of the features for tempting food, and 26% of the features for neutral food. Visual features, in contrast, were mentioned more often for neutral foods (45%) than for tempting foods (19%). Exploratory analyses revealed that the proportion of eating simulation features for tempting foods was positively correlated with perceived attractiveness of the foods, and negatively with participants’ dieting concerns, suggesting that eating simulations may depend on individuals’ goals with regard to eating. These findings are discussed with regard to their implications for understanding the processes guiding eating behavior, and for interventions designed to reduce the consumption of attractive, unhealthy food.

Turning a blind eye to temptation: How cognitive load can facilitate self-regulation.

The present research shows in 4 studies that cognitive load can reduce the impact of temptations on cognition and behavior and, thus, challenges the proposition that distraction always hampers self-regulation. Participants performed different speeded categorization tasks with pictures of attractive and neutral food items (Studies 1-3) and attractive and unattractive female faces (Study 4), while we assessed their reaction times as an indicator of selective attention (Studies 1, 3, and 4) or as an indicator of hedonic thoughts about food (Study 2). Cognitive load was manipulated by a concurrent digit span task. Results show that participants displayed greater attention to tempting stimuli (Studies 1, 3, and 4) and activated hedonic thoughts in response to palatable food (Study 2), but high cognitive load completely eliminated these effects. Moreover, cognitive load during the exposure to attractive food reduced food cravings (Study 1) and increased healthy food choices (Study 3). Finally, individual differences in sensitivity to food temptations (Study 3) and interest in alternative relationship partners (Study 4) predicted selective attention to attractive stimuli, but again, only when cognitive load was low. Our findings suggest that recognizing the tempting value of attractive stimuli in our living environment requires cognitive resources. This has the important implication that, contrary to traditional views, performing a concurrent demanding task may actually diminish the captivating power of temptation and thus facilitate self-regulation.

The Rise and Fall of Self-Control

Environmental cues of temptation generally frustrate people’s long-term goal attainment. However, recent research suggests that temptation cues promote, rather than hamper long-term goal congruent effects in successful self-regulators. While previous work has started to shed light on the cognitive features of this rise and fall of self-control, the present research aims to significantly advance this study by exploring important implications for actual behavior in the domain of dieting. In combining a temptation cue exposure procedure with a concurrent schedules task, results of two studies demonstrated that tempting food cues increased unsuccessful, but not successful dieters’ effortful behavior toward high-calorie food. In contrast, tempting food cues increased successful dieters’ efforts toward low-calorie food, but did not affect unsuccessful dieters. The findings suggest that the behavior of both unsuccessful and successful dieters in response to tempting food cues is goal-directed rather than impulsive.

Resisting temptation. Can exposure to a healthy food cue prime dieters to resist overconsumption?

Dieters’ long term goals to lose weight often fail when opportunities to indulge in palatable and tempting foods activate competing hedonic goals. Restrained eating has been shown to break down in the face of tempting foods and the construct of disinhibition describes in part the tendency to overconsume when highly palatable foods are available. However, exposure to goal congruent cues can facilitate goal adherence such as restricting food intake. The present study examined the effect of pre-exposure to a diet related food cue on subsequent food intake in active dieters. Restrained eaters who were currently on a diet (n = 13) and unrestrained non-dieters (n = 21) were exposed to a tempting food cue (chocolate) and a diet food cue (fresh orange) on two separate testing sessions, and subsequent snack intake was measured. Restrained dieters consumed significantly less energy from the snack foods after pre-exposure to the diet food cue than the tempting food cue. In contrast, unrestrained non-dieters showed no significant difference in energy intake between conditions. These findings suggest that exposure to a diet related food cue can help dieters to resist highly palatable foods when in a tempting food environment.

If it’s good it must be bad. The effects of temptation strength on perceived healthiness and indulgence

Although it is typically believed that temptations inhibit long-term goal attainment, counteractive control theory suggests that in some cases temptations may actually boost goal-directed behavior. Previous studies in the context of eating behavior showed that, paradoxically, only strong but not weak food temptations yielded enhanced self-control performance. As a consequence, exposure to weak temptations resulted in greater food intake compared to strong temptations (Kroese, Evers, & De Ridder, 2011)[[Au: The reference “Kroese, Evers, and De Ridder (2011)” is cited in the text but not listed. Please check.]]. To explain these findings, based on a critical level perspective it was suggested that people may underestimate the goal threat of weak temptations. More specifically, it is expected that participants believe that weak temptations are less unhealthy. Consequently, we assume that these temptations fail to trigger the alarm bells signalling the need for defensive self-regulatory action and hence lead to higher consumption. The current studies aimed to test the indirect effect of temptation strength on consumption through estimated healthiness. Two studies will be presented showing that (a) participants (unjustly) believe that weak temptations contain fewer calories compared to strong temptations; and (b) this indirectly leads to participants consuming more from weak than from strong temptations. It is concluded that underestimated weak temptations can be more dangerous than strong temptations with regard to long-term goals.

Impulsivity, eating behaviour and performance on a delay discounting task

Impulsivity is related to a number of addictive behaviours, including drug and alcohol use. Individual differences in impulsivity may explain why some people are able to stick to long-term health goals whilst others are susceptible to temptation. In the modern food environment with an abundance of widely available tempting foods the ability to self-regulate is critical for successful control of eating behaviour. In this study, the relationship between the ability to delay gratification and eating behaviour is explored using a delay-discounting task. This task has been shown to demonstrate the extent to which individuals can inhibit immediate reward in pursuit of more adaptive delayed goals. Male and female participants were tested on a monetary delay-discounting task and a trail making task (measure of executive function) and completed a number of self-report measures of eating behaviour (Power of Food Scale, Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire, Yale Food Addiction Scale) and impulsivity (BIS-11). Height, weight and dieting history were also recorded to get an accurate measure of BMI and current dieting status. Based on previous findings reported by Applehans et al. (2011; Obesity, 19, 2175–2182) we suggest that impulsivity and performance on the delay discounting task will predict eating style and we will explore the relationship between the ability to delay gratification and BMI. The results will be discussed in the context of the role of top-down processes in the cognitive control of eating.

Fighting food temptations: The modulating effects of short-term cognitive reappraisal, suppression and up-regulation on mesocorticolimbic activity related to appetitive motivation

The premise of cognitive therapy is that one can overcome the irresistible temptation of highly palatable foods by actively restructuring the way one thinks about food. Testing this idea, participants in the present study were instructed to passively view foods, up-regulate food palatability thoughts, apply cognitive reappraisal (e.g., thinking about health consequences), or suppress food palatability thoughts and cravings. We examined whether these strategies affect self-reported food craving and mesocorticolimbic activity as assessed by functional magnetic resonance imaging. It was hypothesized that cognitive reappraisal would most effectively inhibit the mesocorticolimbic activity and associated food craving as compared to suppression. In addition, it was hypothesized that suppression would lead to more prefrontal cortex activity, reflecting the use of more control resources, as compared to cognitive reappraisal. Self-report results indicated that up-regulation increased food craving compared to the other two conditions, but that there was no difference in craving between the suppression and cognitive reappraisal strategy. Corroborating self-report results, the neuroimaging results showed that up-regulation increased activity in important regions of the mesocorticolimbic circuitry, including the ventral tegmental area, ventral striatum, operculum, posterior insular gyrus, medial orbitofrontal cortex and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Contrary to our hypothesis, suppression more effectively decreased activity in the core of the mesocorticolimbic circuitry (i.e., ventral tegmental area and ventral striatum) compared to cognitive reappraisal. Overall, the results support the contention that appetitive motivation can be modulated by the application of short-term cognitive control strategies.

Mere exposure to palatable food cues reduces restrained eaters’ physical effort to obtain healthy food

We examined whether exposure to cues of attractive food reduces effortful behavior toward healthy foods for restrained eaters. After manipulating food pre-exposure, we recorded handgrip force while presenting participants with pictures of healthy food objects. Because participants were led to expect that they could obtain each object (not specified beforehand) by squeezing the handgrip as forcefully as possible while the object was displayed on the screen, the recorded handgrip force constitutes a measure of spontaneous effortful behavior. Results show that restrained eaters, but not unrestrained eaters, displayed less forceful action toward healthy food objects (i.e., lower exertion of force) when pre-exposed to tempting food cues. No effects were found on palatability perceptions of the healthy foods. The results provide further insight into why restrained eaters have difficulties in maintaining a low-calorie diet in food-rich environments.

Preadolescents’ and Parents’ Dietary Coping Efficacy During Behavioral Family-Based Weight Control Treatment

Developmentally relevant high-risk dietary situations (e.g., parties where tempting foods are available) may influence overweight youth's weight control, as they increase risk for overeating. Better self-efficacy for coping with these situations-which preadolescents may learn from their parents-could foster successful weight control. Overweight preadolescents (N=204) ages 7-12years (67% female), each with one parent, separately completed the Hypothetical High-Risk Situation Inventory (HHRSI) pre- and post-weight loss treatment. The HHRSI assesses temptation to overeat and confidence in refraining from overeating in response to four high-risk dietary scenarios. Participants generated coping strategies for each scenario. Coping strategies and confidence increased and temptation decreased from pre- to post-weight loss treatment. Parents' increase in confidence from pre- to post-treatment was associated with preadolescents' and parents' weight loss. Tailoring treatments to enhance parents' coping skills (e.g., building strategies, targeting high temptation/low confidence scenarios) may maximize preadolescents' weight control.