title: An experimental field study of weight salience and food choice.
abstract: Laboratory research has found that individuals will consume more calories and make unhealthy food choices when in the presence of an overweight individual, sometimes even regardless of what that individual is eating. This study expanded these laboratory paradigms to the field to examine how weight salience influences eating in the real world. More specifically, we tested the threshold of the effect of weight salience of food choice to see if a more subtle weight cue (e.g., images) would be sufficient to affect food choice. Attendees (N = 262) at Obesity Week 2013, a weight-salient environment, viewed slideshows containing an image of an overweight individual, an image of a thin individual, or no image (text only), and then selected from complimentary snacks. Results of ordinal logistic regression analysis showed that participants who viewed the image of the overweight individual had higher odds of selecting the higher calorie snack compared to those who viewed the image of the thin individual (OR = 1.77, 95% CI = [1.04, 3.04]), or no image (OR = 2.42, 95% CI = [1.29, 4.54]). Perceiver BMI category did not moderate the influence of image on food choice, as these results occurred regardless of participant BMI. These findings suggest that in the context of societal weight salience, weight-related cues alone may promote unhealthy eating in the general public.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Angela C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Incollingo Rodriguez
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Laura E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Finch
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Buss
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Christine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Guardino
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Electronic address: tomiyama@psych.ucla.edu.
authors.forename: A Janet
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Tomiyama
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001828:Body Image; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003463:Cues; D004032:Diet / Q000523:psychology*; D004435:Eating; D002149:Energy Intake; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000523:psychology*; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D050177:Overweight; D062410:Snacks / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Eating; Field study; Food choice; Obesity; Weight salience