Why do we eat cereal but not lamb chops at breakfast? Investigating Americans’ beliefs about breakfast foods

Poor conceptual knowledge in the food domain and food rejection dispositions in 3- to 7-year-old children

Previous research established that children with poorer taxonomic knowledge in the food domain display increased levels of food rejection. However, the food domain heavily lends itself to script and thematic conceptual knowledge (e.g., pancakes at breakfast), to which young children already attend. This series of studies investigated the development of conceptual knowledge, specifically in the food domain, and the link with food rejection. Study 1 used a nonconflicting triad task testing children's knowledge of four subtypes of script and thematic associations (food-food pairs, food-utensil pairs, event scripts, and meal scripts) with children aged 3-6 years living in the United States (18 males and 14 females). Study 2 employed the same design along with a measure of food rejection in 3- to 6-year-olds living in France (67 males and 62 females). There was significant conceptual development in both groups, but thematic food concepts are acquired earlier than meal script concepts. Study 3 investigated the link between thematic and script cross-classification and food rejection in 39 females and 33 males living in France (4- to 7-year-olds). Results demonstrate that children as young as 3 years old are already attending to thematic and script structures to inform food-based decision making. Even more critically, Study 3 showed that increased food rejection tendencies are negatively related to script and thematic understanding in the food domain. Such seminal studies illustrate the importance of conceptual knowledge in children's interpretation and acceptance of food, highlighting promising avenues for knowledge-based interventions to foster dietary variety.

Would offering vegetables to children for breakfast increase their total daily vegetable intake?

The consumption of vegetables is vitally important for children's health and development. However, in many Westernised countries, most children do not eat sufficient quantities of vegetables and consume many energy-dense and high-sugar foods; a health behaviour associated with the onset of non-communicable diseases. To address this important public health concern, it is necessary to think 'outside the box' and consider innovative and pragmatic ways to increase children's daily vegetable intake. In many countries, caregivers implementing best-practice child feeding methods typically offer children vegetables at lunch, dinner and for snacks. It is unusual for children to be routinely offered vegetables for breakfast, yet there is no nutritional, physiological or medical reason why vegetables should not be eaten at breakfast. Indeed, in some countries, children frequently consume vegetables for breakfast. Increasing children's exposure to vegetables at breakfast from an early age would allow for the development of a positive association between eating vegetables and breakfast, thus providing another opportunity in the day where vegetables might be regularly consumed by children. In this paper, we propose a rationale for why vegetables should be routinely offered to young children at breakfast time in countries where this may not be the norm. Future research assessing the feasibility and acceptability of such a public health intervention would provide health policy agencies with evidence about a potentially effective and easily implementable approach for increasing children's vegetable intake, thus improving their overall nutritional status, as well as their heath and development.

Judgments about appropriate foods for infants: Associations with parents’ own food preferences

When infants begin to eat solid foods (recommended at around 6 months of age), parents have a huge variety of choices in terms of what foods to offer. The present studies examine parents’ judgments about foods for infants. Participants included parents recruited from Prolific (n = 99), who were shown descriptions of foods offered to infants (including familiar and unfamiliar foods at 6-, 9-, and 12-months) and a set of control foods eaten by adults. Participants rated each food based on how appropriate they thought it was for an infant and how much they personally wanted to eat the food. Parents rated foods as more appropriate for infants if they were familiar (vs. unfamiliar) and offered to younger infants (6- vs. 12-month-olds, or infant foods vs. adult foods), but demonstrated the opposite pattern when considering whether they wanted to eat each food. Participants’ own food pickiness was related to their judgments about what they would eat, but not whether foods were appropriate for infants. Parents’ judgments of individual foods were inversely related: The more appropriate they rated each food for an infant, the less they were interested in eating that food. These findings are discussed in terms of potential barriers to engaging in social modeling (i.e., parents demonstrating eating and liking the foods they offer to their infants).

Why do people eat the same breakfast every day? Goals and circadian rhythms of variety seeking in meals

People exhibit a circadian rhythm in the variety of foods they eat. Many people happily eat the same foods for breakfast day after day, yet seek more variety in the foods they eat for lunch and dinner. We identify psychological goals as a driver of this diurnal pattern of variety seeking, complementing other biological and cultural drivers. People are more likely to pursue hedonic goals for meals as the day progresses, which leads them to seek more variety for dinners and lunches than breakfasts. We find evidentiary support for our theory in studies with French and American participants (N = 4481) using diary data, event reconstruction methods, and experiments. Both endogenously and exogenously induced variation in hedonic goal activation modulates variety seeking in meals across days. Hedonic goal activation predicts variety seeking for meals when controlling for factors including time devoted to meal preparation and eating, the presence or absence of other people, and whether people ate a meal inside or outside their home. Goal activation also explain differences in time spent on meals, whereas increasing time spent on meals does not increase variety seeking. Finally, we observed that a similar increase in hedonic goal activation enacts a larger increase in variety seeking at breakfast than at lunch than at dinner, suggesting a diminishing marginal effect of hedonic goal activation on variety seeking.

Testing an online measure of portion size selection: a pilot study concerned with the measurement of ideal portion size

BACKGROUND

Portion size is known to be a key driver of food intake. As consumed portions are often pre-planned, 'ideal portion size'-an individual's preferred meal size selected prior to eating-has been identified as a strong predictor of actual consumption. However, assessments of ideal portion size have predominantly relied on laboratory-based computer tasks, limiting use online. Therefore, this cross-sectional study sought to pilot test the validity of a web-based tool to measure ideal portion size.

METHODS

In an online study (N = 48), participants responded to images of a range of foods. Each food was photographed in a series of different portions and loaded into an 'image carousel' that would allow participants to change the size of the displayed portion by moving a slider left-to-right. Using this image carousel, participants selected their ideal portion size. They also completed measures of expected satiety and expected satiation and self-reported their age and body mass index (BMI). A non-parametric correlation matrix was used to explore associations between ideal portion size and identified predictors of food intake.

RESULTS

Supporting convergent validity of this measure, ideal portion size was significantly correlated with expected satiety (rs = .480) and expected satiation (rs = -.310) after controlling for effects of baseline hunger and fullness, consistent with past research. Similarly, supporting divergent validity of this measure, ideal portion size was not significantly correlated with age (rs = -.032) or BMI (rs = -.111,).

CONCLUSIONS

Pilot results support the validity of this web-based portion size selection tool used to measure ideal portion size, though further research is needed to validate use with comparisons to actual food intake.

Negative energy balance during military training: The role of contextual limitations

During multiday training exercises, soldiers almost systematically face a moderate-to-large energy deficit, affecting their body mass and composition and potentially their physical and cognitive performance. Such energy deficits are explained by their inability to increase their energy intake during these highly demanding periods. With the exception of certain scenarios in which rations are voluntarily undersized to maximize the constraints, the energy content of the rations are often sufficient to maintain a neutral energy balance, suggesting that other limitations are responsible for such voluntary and/or spontaneous underconsumption. In this review, the overall aim was to present an overview of the impact of military training on energy balance, a context that stands out by its summation of specific limitations that interfere with energy intake. We first explore the impact of military training on the various components of energy balance (intake and expenditure) and body mass loss. Then, the role of the dimensioning of the rations (total energy content above or below energy expenditure) on energy deficits are addressed. Finally, the potential limitations inherent to military training (training characteristics, food characteristics, timing and context of eating, and the soldiers' attitude) are discussed to identify potential strategies to spontaneously increase energy intake and thus limit the energy deficit.

Breakfast on the go: Evaluating the nutritional content of supermarket products

OBJECTIVES

Breakfast consumption on the go is becoming an established food habit; this has been accompanied by a growing number of related products. Given the limited research on these products and the growing trend in breakfast consumption away from home and on the go, the aim of this cross-sectional study was to survey and scrutinize the nutritional composition of breakfast on-the-go products available in the UK.

METHODS

Field visits to supermarkets of the top seven grocery retailers (accounting for 88% of the UK market) were conducted in a large city in the UK. Breakfast on-the-go products (n = 128) were identified, and data (including price, energy, and nutrients) were collected. Products were categorized according to food format (i.e., breakfast biscuits, breakfast drinks, high-protein breakfast drinks, and porridge pots). Products were profiled according to front-of-pack nutrition labeling (i.e., low, medium, high) for fat, saturated fat, total sugars, and salt content. Nutrient content and profiles were examined across categories.

RESULTS

Significant associations were revealed between product type and nutrient profiles for total fat, saturated fat, and salt. Total sugar content varied from 11.8 g per portion observed in biscuits to high-protein breakfast drinks, which contained almost double this level (20.0 g). Notably, six of ten breakfast on-the-go items (60.2%) were profiled as high for total sugars (according to front-of-pack criteria). Most items were medium in total fat (87.5%), low in saturated fat (61.7%), and low in salt (56.3%).

CONCLUSIONS

Reformulation of breakfast on-the-go products, principally with respect to sugar content, is warranted. This is particularly relevant given the growing role of breakfast consumption on the go and ongoing developments in the sector as new product ranges and formats are introduced.

Morning diurnal preference and food intake: a Mendelian randomization study

BACKGROUND

Poor dietary choices may underlie known associations between having an evening diurnal preference and cardiometabolic diseases. Assessing causal links between diurnal preference and food intake is now possible in Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses.

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to use a 2-sample MR to determine potential causal effects of genetic liability to a morning preference on food intake. We also examined potential causal effects of a morning preference on objectively captured response performances to email-administered 24-h diet recalls.

METHODS

We used genetic variants associated with a morning preference from a published genome-wide association meta-analysis. Our outcomes included 61 food items with estimates from a food-frequency questionnaire in the UK Biobank (n = 361,194). For significant findings, we repeated the analysis using intake estimates from modified 24-h diet recalls in a subset of overlapping participants (n = 146,086). In addition, we examined 7 response performance outcomes, including the time and duration of responses to 24-h diet recalls (n = 123,035). MR effects were estimated using an inverse-variance weighted analysis.

RESULTS

Genetic liability to a morning preference was associated with increased intake of 6 food items (fresh fruit, alcohol with meals, bran cereal, cereals, dried fruit, and water), decreased intake of 4 food items (beer plus cider, processed meat, other cereals [e.g., corn or frosted flakes], and full cream milk), increased temperature of hot drinks, and decreased variation in diet (PFalse Discovery Rate < 0.05). There was no evidence for an effect on coffee or tea intake. Findings for fresh fruit, beer plus cider, bran cereal, and cereal were consistent when intakes were estimated by 24-h diet recalls (P < 0.05). We also identified potential causal links between a morning preference with earlier timing and a shorter duration for completing email-administered 24-h diet recalls.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings provide evidence for a potentially causal effect of a morning preference with the increased intake of foods known to constitute a healthy diet, suggesting possible health benefits of adopting a more morning diurnal preference.

Children's implicit food cognition: Developing a food Implicit Association Test

Assessing children's reasoning about food, including their health knowledge and their food preferences, is an important step toward understanding how health messages may influence children's food choices. However, in many studies, assessing children's reasoning relies on parent report or could be susceptible to social pressure from adults. To address these limitations, the present study describes the development of a food version of the Implicit Association Test (IAT). The IAT has been used to examine children's implicit stereotypes about social groups, yet few studies have used the IAT in other domains (such as food cognition). Four- to 12-year-olds (n = 123) completed the food IAT and an explicit card sort task, in which children assessed foods based on their perception of the food's healthfulness (healthy vs. unhealthy) and palatability (yummy vs. yucky). Surprisingly, children demonstrated positive implicit associations towards vegetables. This pattern may reflect children's health knowledge, given that the accuracy of children's healthfulness ratings in the card sort task positively predicted children's food IAT d-scores. Implications for both food cognition and the IAT are discussed.