Week 5 - Food Choice Flashcards
1
Q
What is food choice?
A
- Much more complex than just picking the food you like
- It is the product of multiple conscious and subconscious evaluations
- Food choice affects our food habits/ behaviours and health
2
Q
Why is it important to consider food choice?
A
- Each individual is different
- There is no one size fits all approach
- Most people are not meeting the guidelines and we need to understand why
3
Q
The importance of food choice for health professionals
A
- Important to public health nutritionists to make guidelines that are easy for a population to follow
- Important for a dietician to develop a diet plan for an individual with specific needs or health problems
- Important to product developers as they need to make food products that meets the needs of customers
4
Q
Individual factors
A
- Taste and physiology (Liking, Satiety)
- Learning and exposure
- Level of education
- Income
- Ability and desire to cook
- Health status
5
Q
Taste
A
- Detection of non volatile food components (or nutrients) on the tongue
- Differentiated by smell which is the detection of volatile food components (gases) via the nasal cavity
- 2 types of taste: appetitive (promote intake) and aversive (inhibit intake) tastes
- Not everyone tastes the same - some people are more sensitive to tastes than others
- Variation in sensitivity has been shown to impact on what we eat and how much we eat
6
Q
Taste sensitivity and dietary intake
A
- Sensitivity to different tastes can influence how much we like a food
- Some tastes regulated by genes, some by environment/diet
- Adding salt to vegetables masks the bitter taste and increases consumption in children and adults
7
Q
Liking
A
- Liking is pleasure derived from oro-sensory stimulation of food
- This is distinct from wanting, which is the motivation to engage in eating
- You might like it but you might not want to eat it (previous intake/ ethical reasons)
8
Q
Liking, dietary intake and health indices
A
- Food liking has been noted as an important determinant of food acceptance, food rejection and potentially dietary intake and health indices
- Based on the assumption that, over time, we tend to eat what we like and avoid what we do not
9
Q
Satiety
A
- Satiety is the overall feeling of fullness or sustenance (opposite of hunger)
- Sensory-specific satiety is the declining desire to eat foods of a certain sensation throughout an eating event ( the more you eat of a particular food the less appealing a food becomes, helps your body eat a varied diet)
- Energy dense foods tend to be less satiating - this is our body’s way of encouraging macronutrient intake
- People who are more sensitive to certain tastes reach satiety quicker than those who are less sensitive
10
Q
Learning
A
- Flavour-nutrient learning - associating the flavour of a food with the positive consequences of a nutrient ingestion or satiety
- Flavour-flavour learning - associating the flavour of a food with another flavour
11
Q
Exposure
A
- Early exposure to a food leads to liking (includes in utero exposure, breastfeeding and early childhood)
- Frequent repeated exposures to a food to combat neophobia; mostly researched in children but also effective in adults
- Learning and exposure are much better promotors of healthy food choices in children than rewarding or forcing
12
Q
Level of education
A
- Higher levels of education is associated with greater diet quality
- This may be due to increased knowledge of nutrition, or an increased ability to understand nutritional guidelines and promotions
13
Q
Income
A
- Families with higher income tend to consume more fruit, vegetables and wholegrains, but also consume more sodium
- May be due to access to healthy foods (fast food density, healthy food options)
- Greatest perceived barrier for low income families is inability to afford fresh fruit and vegetables
- Income and education are linked
14
Q
Ability and desire to cook
A
- Preparing food at home is associated with a healthier diet
- Perceived barriers include (cooking skills, time, money to buy food and enjoyment of cooking/shopping)
15
Q
Social factors
A
- Social norms
- Body image
- Culture and religion
- Social facilitation
- Modelling
