title: Blue lighting decreases the amount of food consumed in men, but not in women.
abstract: Previous research has demonstrated that colors of lighting can modulate participants' motivation to consume the food placed under the lighting. This study was designed to determine whether the colors of lighting can affect the amount of food consumed, in addition to sensory perception of the food. The influence of lighting color was also compared between men and women. One-hundred twelve participants (62 men and 50 women) were asked to consume a breakfast meal (omelets and mini-pancakes) under one of three different lighting colors: white, yellow, and blue. During the test, hedonic impression of the food's appearance, willingness to eat, overall flavor intensity and overall impression of the food, and meal size (i.e., the amount of food consumed) were measured. Blue lighting decreased the hedonic impression of the food's appearance, but not the willingness to eat, compared to yellow and white lighting conditions. The blue lighting significantly decreased the amount consumed in men, but not in women, compared to yellow and white lighting conditions. Overall flavor intensity and overall impression of the food were not significantly different among the three lighting colors. In conclusion, this study provides empirical evidence that the color of lighting can modulate the meal size. In particular, blue lighting can decrease the amount of food eaten in men without reducing their acceptability of the food.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, University of Arkansas, 2650 N. Young Avenue, Fayetteville, AR 72704, USA.
authors.forename: Sungeun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, University of Arkansas, 2650 N. Young Avenue, Fayetteville, AR 72704, USA.
authors.forename: Ashley
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, University of Arkansas, 2650 N. Young Avenue, Fayetteville, AR 72704, USA.
authors.forename: Michael H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, University of Arkansas, 2650 N. Young Avenue, Fayetteville, AR 72704, USA.
authors.forename: Alexandria C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Huck
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, University of Arkansas, 2650 N. Young Avenue, Fayetteville, AR 72704, USA.
authors.forename: Amanda M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Mishler
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, University of Arkansas, 2650 N. Young Avenue, Fayetteville, AR 72704, USA.
authors.forename: Kyle L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Mattal
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, University of Arkansas, 2650 N. Young Avenue, Fayetteville, AR 72704, USA.
authors.forename: Caleb A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Barker
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, University of Arkansas, 2650 N. Young Avenue, Fayetteville, AR 72704, USA. Electronic address: hanseok@uark.edu.
authors.forename: Han-Seok
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Seo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003116:Color; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D008029:Lighting; D008297:Male; D062407:Meals; D008875:Middle Aged; D064787:Portion Size; D013649:Taste; D044465:White People; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Food consumption; Food perception; Gender difference; Lighting color; Meal size