Individual differences in food perceptions and calorie estimation: An examination of dieting status, weight, and gender

People frequently place foods into "health" or "diet" categories. This study examined whether (1) evaluations of "healthiness/unhealthiness" influence "caloric" estimation accuracy, (2) people evaluate foods for "healthiness/unhealthiness" or "weight gain/loss" differently, and (3) food evaluations differ by gender, diet status, and weight. Also, undergraduate dieters attempting to lose weight on their own were compared to obese weight loss program participants. Undergraduate students (N=101) rated eight "healthy" and "unhealthy" foods on perceived "healthiness/unhealthiness," "weight loss/gain capacity" and "caloric" content. Open-ended questions inquiring why a food was "healthy/unhealthy" or would "contribute to weight gain/loss" were coded into independent food categories (e.g., high fat). Results indicate that calories were systematically underestimated in healthy/weight loss foods, while they were systematically overestimated in unhealthy/weight gain foods. Dieters were more accurate at estimating "calories" of healthy foods and more attentive to the foods' fat, "calorie", and sugar content than non-dieters. Overweight participants commented more on fat and sugar content than normal weight participants. Undergraduate dieters used fewer categories for evaluating foods than weight loss program participants. Individual difference characteristics, such as diet-status, weight, and gender, influence people's perceptions of foods' healthiness or capacity to influence weight, and in some instances systematically bias their estimates of the caloric content of foods.

[1]  C. S. Slotterback,et al.  What's in a name? A comparison of men's and women's judgements about food names and their nutrient contents , 2001, Appetite.

[2]  Brian H. Ross,et al.  Food for Thought: Cross-Classification and Category Organization in a Complex Real-World Domain , 1999, Cognitive Psychology.

[3]  Michael E. Oakes Good foods gone bad: ‘infamous’ nutrients diminish perceived vitamin and mineral content of foods , 2004, Appetite.

[4]  C. S. Slotterback,et al.  Judgements of food healthfulness: food name stereotypes in adults over age 25 , 2001, Appetite.

[5]  M. Oakes Stereotypical thinking about foods and perceived capacity to promote weight gain , 2005, Appetite.

[6]  C. S. Slotterback,et al.  Gender differences in perceptions of the healthiness of foods , 2001 .

[7]  W. Insull,et al.  Fat-gram counting and food-record rating are equally effective for evaluating food records in reduced-fat diets. , 1997, Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

[8]  A. Tversky,et al.  Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases , 1974, Science.

[9]  D. Booth Cognitive experimental psychology of appetite , 1987 .

[10]  C. S. Slotterback,et al.  The good, the bad, and the ugly: Characteristics used by young, middle-aged, and older men and women, dieters and non-dieters to judge healthfulness of foods , 2002, Appetite.

[11]  R. Carels,et al.  Qualitative perceptions and caloric estimations of healthy and unhealthy foods by behavioral weight loss participants , 2006, Appetite.

[12]  P. Rozin,et al.  Lay American conceptions of nutrition: dose insensitivity, categorical thinking, contagion, and the monotonic mind. , 1996, Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association.

[13]  I. Fedoroff,et al.  Gender differences in eating behavior and body weight regulation. , 1991, Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association.