Abstract
Research suggests that traditional behaviour-based weight loss approaches requiring individuals to change their dietary habits or physical activity results in only modest weight loss which often isn’t maintained. Given the need to improve population health, the broader food environment (e.g., food price or composition) and the more immediate eating context have been identified as possible intervention targets.For product reformulation to be a successful public health strategy, consumers are required to be ‘insensitive’ to changes to the reformulated product. This raises a more general question regarding whether humans are sensitive to food composition and whether this influences food choice and energy intake. The studies presented in Part A suggest that people are sensitive to both the energy content and macronutrient composition of food. Specifically, the results presented in chapters two to four indicate a non-linear pattern in meal caloric intake in response to meal energy density (kcal/g), and this pattern was captured in a theoretical two-component model of meal size (g, chapter five). The remaining two chapters in Part A (chapters six and seven) explore human sensitivity to food macronutrient composition. Chapter six describes the development of a new paradigm and task to assess protein discrimination by humans. Chapter seven focuses on the remaining two macronutrients, fat and carbohydrate, and demonstrates that, alongside being more liked, foods containing a combination of fat and carbohydrate are selected in larger portions than foods high in either fat or carbohydrate.
The effect of eating contexts (e.g., social or distracted eating) on acute energy intake is well-researched, but their chronic impact on energy balance is unclear. The results of chapter nine (Part B) indicated that more frequently watching TV was associated with a higher body mass index (BMI) in young adults. More generally, the work identified eating contexts as potential targets for public health messaging which could effect changes in BMI on a population level.
Together, the work presented in this thesis highlights new complexity in human dietary behaviour which presents both challenges and opportunities for successful food reformulation as a public health strategy, and it also demonstrates that the context in which we eat our meals could be leveraged to improve population-level health.
Date of Award | 23 Jan 2024 |
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Original language | English |
Awarding Institution |
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Supervisor | Jeff Brunstrom (Supervisor) & Peter J Rogers (Supervisor) |