Question

3. Learned (a.k.a. conditioned) responses to food-relevant stimuli can have powerful effects on eating. a. Define flavor-nutrient learning (a.k.a. flavor-postingestive consequence or flavor-calorie learning) and describe one example of empirical evidence that demonstrates its effect on food preference or intake (i.e. the training and testing method.) b. Define learned meal initiation and describe one example of empirical evidence that demonstrates its effect on eating behavior.

Answer 1

a. Define flavor-nutrient learning (a.k.a. flavor-postingestive consequence or flavor-calorie learning) and describe one example of empirical evidence that demonstrates its effect on food preference or intake (i.e. the training and testing method.)

Flavor nutrient learning is defined as the process of coming to like a food that is ingested, whose orosensory properties are associated with the nutrient benefits due to eating that food.

Empirical evidence:

Gould N., 2013, Understanding flavor nutrient learning: the impact of extinction and expectation, Retrieved from http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/45167/

As part of this research, it has been proven that there was better likeability to food items whose nutrition information was known to participants beforehand. When the yogurt drink was provided without information, likeability was not established. But when the nutrition information was given out, participants showed more likeability to the yogurt drink.

b. Define learned meal initiation and describe one example of empirical evidence that demonstrates its effect on eating behavior.

Meal initiation is a classic type of conditioning in which the subject is capable of identifying what causes the receipt of a meal. These may be verbal or visual cues that result in meal being provided.

Empirical evidence:

Birch L L., McPhee L., Sullivan S., Johnson S., 1989, Conditioned meal initiation in young children, Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0195666389901086

This research had preschool children as the subjects of meal initiation. Based on visual and auditory cues, snacks were provided. Similarly, with a different set of auditory and visual cues, snacks were not provided. Over time, children were able to identify when to expect a snack.