Do food cinemagraphs evoke stronger appetitive responses than stills?

Viewing images of food triggers the desire to eat and this effect increases when images represent food in a more vivid way. Cinemagraphs are a new medium that is intermediate between photographs and videos: most of the frame is static, while some details are animated in a seamless loop, resulting in a vivid viewing experience. On social media cinemagraphs are increasingly used for food-related communication. Given their vivid appearance we hypothesized that food cinemagraphs may evoke stronger appetitive responses than their static counterparts (stills). This would make them a promising medium for food advertisements on the Internet or on digital menu boards. In this study we measured the ‘wanting’ (appetitive) and ‘liking’ (affective) responses to both cinemagraph and stills representing a wide range of different food products. Our results show that food cinemagraphs slightly increase ‘wanting’ scores while not affecting ‘liking’ scores, compared to similar stills. Although we found no overall main effect of image dynamics on ‘liking’, we did observe a significant effect for some individual food items. The effects of image dynamics on ‘wanting’ and ‘liking’ appear to be product specific: while dynamic images were scored higher on ‘wanting’ or ‘liking’ for some products, static images were scored higher on these factors for other products. Observer responses to a free association task indicate that image dynamics can affect the appeal of a food product in two ways: by emphasizing its hedonic qualities (lusciousness, freshness) and by enhancing the observers’ awareness of their own core affect (‘liking’) for the product. We conclude that the effective use of cinemagraphs in food advertisements therefore requires a careful consideration of the characteristics (hedonic aspects) of the food product that are to be highlighted through image motion and the inherent preferences (core liking) of the target group.

Does nutrition information on menus impact food choice? Comparisons across two hospital cafeterias

ObjectiveFood prepared and consumed away from home accounts for a significant proportion of dietary intake among Canadians. Currently, Canadians receive little or no nutrition information when eating in restaurant and fast-food outlets. The present study examined the impact of nutrition information on menus in hospital cafeterias on noticing and perceived influence of nutrition information and on food consumption.DesignCross-sectional surveys.SettingExit surveys (n 1003) were conducted in two hospital cafeterias. The ‘intervention’ site featured energy (calorie), sodium and fat content on digital menu boards, as well as a health logo for ‘healthier’ items. The intervention site had also revised its menu items to improve the nutrient profiles. The ‘control’ site provided limited nutrition information at the point of sale.SubjectsCafeteria patrons recruited using the intercept technique.ResultsSignificantly more respondents at the intervention site reported noticing nutrition information (OR = 7·6, P < 0·001) and using nutrition information to select their food items (OR = 3·3, P < 0·001) compared with patrons at the control site, after adjusting for sociodemographic factors. Patrons at the intervention site consumed significantly less energy (−21 %, P < 0·001), sodium (−23 %, P < 0·001), saturated fat (−33 %, P < 0·001) and total fat (−37 %, P < 0·001) than patrons at the control site.ConclusionsA nutritional programme, including nutrition information on menus and improved nutrition profile of food offerings, was associated with substantial reductions in energy, sodium and fat consumption. The results are consistent with a positive impact of menu labelling.