External Factors Influencing Human Eating Behaviour

External Factors Influencing Human Eating BehaviourSvetlana YakunchevaHow do orthogonal detailors influence human eating behaviour?There is an impressive amount of research that has been focused on understanding the factors that impact food choice. Unfortunately, much little investigation has been made in order to understand the factors that middle the human eating behaviour. Recent evidence has shown that there is a strong correlation among the ambient eating environment and an summation in food inspiration volume to a far greater spot than the majority of us dexterity realise (Bell Pliner 2003 Caldwell Hibbert 2002 Gueguen Jacob 2007 Wansnik, 2004 Zampini Spence 2004, 2005). In addition, it has been order that assay perception of similar foods varied in the different eating atmospheres (Bellisle Dalix, 2001 Mela, 2001 Smith Ditschun, 2009).The enquiry question is a specific interest in modern society considering the dramatic rise of the obesity epidemic. According to Lyman (1999) one of the main driving factors of this epidemic is overconsumption of food. Wansnik (2004) enkindles that an increase in consumption norms are governed by external cues such as size of food packages, restaurant deal out size, serving aids, and the presence of distraction or other concourse during eating. To determine the link mingled with eating environment and food behaviour, the following essay will critically render the recent literature related to the cross-modal interaction between external factors impacting human eating patterns on the psychological and sensory system levels. The paper is focused to determine a degree of substantiative influence of the external factors on what or even why people are eating and how the taste perception efficiency be alter by the ambient environment. The paper is divided into three main sections inaugural, it will evaluate the impact of packaging, serving aids, and lighting on food intake second, it will examine the rol e of distractions that can alternate or mask the taste perception and finally, it will highlight the role of social interaction, that might take place during eating, on the food consumption and perceived pleasantness.Recent data suggests that the food consumption norm is usually determined by the packaging and marketplace portion sizes that leads to the sane portion size distortion (Wansik, 2004 Wansik Kim, 2004 Smith Ditschun, 2009). Smith and Ditschun (2009) point out that food packaging and retail serving sizes have been almost doubled in size since the time they were first introduced into the market causing difficulties in estimating an appropriate portion size by consumers, and therefore, resulting in overeating. Moreover, they emphasized the role of utensils and dishware in consumption volume, for instance, it was take downd that due to the vertical-horizontal illusion people consumed 30 percent more beverage from a short, wide glass as it appeared to hold little volume t han a tall glass the Delboeuf illusion, which is governed by the relative size of two circles, makes the same amount of food appears smaller on the bigger plate. The authors suggest that consumers must be aware about this influence in order to control caloric intake. However, the main weakness of these studies is the failure to describe the ways of upkeep education to the mass population. In 2004, Wansnik and Kim promulgateda paperin whichhe emphasised that environmental cues from larger package size affected the food intake of food even if it was disagreeable. It has also been found that super-size packaging and larger portion size implicitly suggest larger consumption norms as people construe that it is an appropriate amount to consume disregarding of hunger level. Wansnik (2004) argues that the strategy of Smith (2009) will have been successful as simply bringing the awareness to the consumer will not eliminate the problem of portion control. He recommends to remove large pack ages, dinnerware, and serving from everyday life to prevent overconsumption.Lighting is another factor in the eating environment that has been found to mediate human eating behaviour. People are found to be less(prenominal) self-conscious and insecure when the lights are low, hence, they tend to eat more than they otherwise would (Wansink, 2004). The first serious analyses of the correlation of light and food consumption emerged during the 1980s with Lyman (1983) concluded that warm and dimmed lightening (including candlelight) affected consumption volume, increased comfort and the degree of perceived pleasantness by the participants. This point is supported by Sommer (2009) who has reported that bright illumination decreases the length of people stay in restaurant, while soft lightening causes people to linger and order an extra subscribe or unplanned dessert. However, one question that needs to be asked, is whether the light is paramount or secondary factor impacting food consu mption and duration.The relationship between food intake and distractions such as television, music, movies, or reading has been widely investigated by Bellisle and Dalix (2001), Caldwell and Hibbert (2002), Gueguen and Jacob (2007), and Wansik (2004). For example, a controlled study conducted in 2001 illustrated that people who ate dinner while watching a detective movie consumed 15 percent more in equivalence with those who had their meal in silence (Bellisle Dalix, 2001). Wansik (2004) states that distraction obscures ones ability to control food intake by redirecting attention away from satiety signals resulting in extended meal duration and overeating.Many researches have suggestedthat music and background kerfuffle indirectly affect the gustatory properties of food causing the disguise of its taste and textural properties. Early experiment done by Vickers (1982) illustrated that the amplitude of sound resulting from the food consumption played a operative role in the evalu ation of the crispness of food. Recent research, such as that conducted by Zampini and Spence (2004), demonstrated the strong correlation between the sound that arises from eating potato chips and the ratings of the crispness perceived by the participants. The earliest studies of sound influence on taste perception have not dealt withfood properties rather than crispness. It seems that Spence has understood that there might be much wider line of business for research in the field of sensory cross-modal interaction between sound and taste perception. In his thought experiment he has shown that carbonated water supply had been rated as more carbonated when the sound of carbonation was played to the participants during the experiment (Spence, 2005). Another recent observation studies conducted by North and Hargeaves (2006), Gueguen and Jacob (2007) examined the role of loud ambient noise (music) in a restaurant and duration of persons meal. It had been found that loud, fast-tempo r hythms encouraged people to eat faster and spend less time in a restaurant as they felt discomforted and tensed. In addition, recent experiment by Caldwell and Hibbert (2012) found that soft music stimulated a longer duration of the meal, slower rate of eating, more pleasant feelings, and higher consumption of food and beverages as people are more likely to order an another drink or a dessert. Unfortunately, the main limitation of these studies is that none of them differentiated the participants based on their music tastes prior the experiment hence, such explanations might overlook the fact that people have different music tastes. Suggestively, taste perception and amount of food eaten might vary depending on whether a person listens to their favourite or non-favourite music during eating.Recently, a significant amount of literature has been published on the impact of the social interaction on eating behaviour (Bell Pliner, 2003 Chaiken Pliner, 2009 Wansik, 2004). In 2004, Wansi nk published a paper in which he described how social cues governing an eating behaviour and food acceptability. First of all, the study has illustrated that people tend to observe and follow others consumption norm and secondly, it was observed that dinning in a company of familiar and friendly people (such as family and friends) increases the amount and duration of meals. The following fact is supported by an experiments of Bell and Pliner (2003), Chaiken and Pliner (2009). According to them, eating with strangers suppresses food consumption and increases self-awareness similar to that of a first date or job interview. However, the main weakness of these studies is the failure to specify if the responce differs among obese and normal weight individuals.To conclude, the research up-to-date indicates that the environmental cues indirectly mediate food intake and have a significant impact on the taste. General evidence illustrated that physical eating environment governs human appeti te on the deep psychological, physiological and sociological levels causing overeating, which in turn contributes to the weight gain and triggers the epidemic of obesity.The main external factors that influence food behaviour have been effectively identified by many researches, however, it has less effectively explained why they do so. Further work needs to be done to better understand the mechanism of human cross-modal sensory interactions betweenthe food acceptability, intake and intensity of perceived pleasantness, and hearing, vision, and social communication. A future study investigating how persons food choices and taste perception might be enhanced by modifying the ambient eating environment would be beneficial for the general population, and especially, for food manufactures, restaurants businesses, and marketing companies.ReferencesBell, R. Pliner, P. (2003). Time to eat the relationship between the number of people eating and meal duration in three lunch settings. Appetit e, 41, 215218. doi10.1016/S0195-6663(03)00109-0.Bellisle, F., Dalix, A. (2001). Cognitive restraint can be offset by distraction, leading to increased meal intake in women. American journal of Clinical Nutrition, 74, 197200. doi 10.1016/j.physbeh.2008.04.012.Caldwell, C., Hibbert, S. (2012). The influence of music tempo and musical preference on restaurant patrons behaviour. Psychology Marketing, 19, 895917. doi10.1002/mar.10043Chaiken, S., Pliner, P. (2009). Eating, social motives, and self-presentation in women and men. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 26, 240254. doi 0.1016/0022-1031(90)90037-MGueguen, N., Jacob, C. (2007). Effect ofbackground musicon consumersbehaviour. European Journal of Scientific Research, 16, 268-272. doi10.1080/02642069.2011.531125.Lyman, B. (1983). A psychology of food. More than a matter of taste. New York, The United States of America Van Reinhold.Mela, D. (2001). Determinants of food choice relationships with obesity and weight control. Obesity Research, 9, 249255. doi10.1038/oby.2001.127. 2001.North, A., Hargreaves, D. (2006). The effects of music on responses to a dining area. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 24, 5564. doi 10.1006/jevp.1996.0005.Sommer, R. (2009). Personal space. The behavioural basis of design. New Jersey, The United States of America Prentice-Hall Inc.Smith, J., Ditschun, T. (2009). controlling satiety how environmental factors influence food intake.Trends in Food Science Technology, 20, 271277. doi10.1016/j.tifs.2009.03.009Vickers, Z. (1982). Relationships of chewing sounds to judgments of crispness. Journal of Food Science, 47(1), 121-124. doi10.1111/j.1365-2621.1982.tb11041.x.Wansink, B., Kim, J. (2004). Bad popcorn in big buckets portion size can influence intake as much as taste. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behaviour, 24, 242-245. doi10.1016/s1499-4046(06)60278-9.Wansink, B. (2004). Environmental factors that increase the food intake and consumption volume of unknowing con sumers.Annual Review of Nutrition,24, 45579. doi10.1146/annurev.nutr.24.012003.132140.Zampini, M., Spence, C. (2004). The role of auditory cues in modulating the perceived crispness and staleness of potato chips. Journal of Sensory Studies, 19(5), 347-363. doi10.1111/j.1745-459x.2004.080403.x.Zampini, M., Spence, C. (2005). Modifying the multisensory perception of a carbonated beverage using auditory cues. Food Quality and Preference, 16(7), 632-641. doi10.1016/j.foodqual.2004.11.004.