TA 5: Individual and contextual factors as determinants of food choices – from personality to interventions

What determines (a persons) food choice?

Scientists want to answer this question, by examining the influence of individual and contextual factors of food choice. This knowledge will be applied in intervention studies conducted in a non-clinical setting. They are conducted in collaboration with TA1 and 2.

Individual factors related to food choices

In the 1st period, an assessment of personality traits in subjects from the DONALD and Rhineland studies were initiated to investigate their association with dietary patterns and health outcomes. In the DONALD cohort, ~160 children have now been assessed using measures of impulsivity, risk-taking behavior, and social preferences. Initial analyses on associations between personality factors and nutritional decisions have been performed. In the Rhineland Study, a WP5.1 questionnaire module on personality and risk preferences has been created and integrated into the core study protocol. Initial analyses in the current sample of about 600 individuals on personality-BMI-relationships are in progress.

The effect of contextual factors on food choices

In the 1st period, the focus lied on contextual factors with a potential influence on the valuation, perception, and consumption of foods. In a series of experiments specific cues (e.g., packaging design, nutritional information, and food labels) influence food valuation and decision-making processes were investigated. It was demonstrated that food valuation and choice are strongly dependent on how food items are presented at the time of their selection. This has been investigated in behavioral and functional MRI experiments and lately using eye-tracking. Together, these studies suggest that attention is a key driver of this contextual influence. A plausible hypothesis is that attention impacts the weighting of opposing attributes (e.g., taste versus nutritional value) in choice. In the next step the analysis should be stratified (e.g. weight, socioeconomic status, education). Furthermore the food application and –awareness should be investigated by using a MRI scanner.

Research question and objectives

O5.1 To examine the association between non-cognitive skills and dietary choices

O5.2 To evaluate contextual influencing factors for perception, processing and food decisions

O5.3 To examine and evaluate the efficiency of communication with regard to memory and intention to behavioral change