"I find it hard to change poor food habits": Measuring food choice motives in an emerging economy.

Food choices are driven by an array of motives that have been approached, determined and quantified in a number of ways, mainly in developed countries. The objective of this study was to better understand the motives behind food choices in an emerging economy by collecting information from urban people in South Africa in a series of four studies. (1) Items generated through focus group discussions with low, middle and high income participants by Magano et al.

Food choice drivers at varying income levels in an emerging economy.

The purpose of this work was to explore and compare food choice drivers of low (LI), middle (MI) and high (HI) income urban people in an emerging economy (South Africa). Here, 13 focus group (FG) discussions [six LI, n = 36, 67% women; four MI, n = 22, 100% women and three HI, n = 17, 76% women; total n = 75) were transcribed, coded inductively and deductively and 17 food choice categories emerged. Eight of these, i.

Sex- and weight-specific changes in the frequency of sweet treat consumption during early adolescence: a longitudinal study.

The transition from childhood to adolescence is a sensitive period, triggering changes in health- and weight-related behaviours including eating habits which likely vary between girls and boys. We aimed to characterise the changes in the frequency of consumption of select sugary foods and drinks ('sweet treats') among 4237 Finnish girls and boys during a 2-year follow-up period. Additionally, we examined four subgroups: children whose weight or waist normalised as well as children whose weight or waist circumference increased during follow-up.

Frequent use of selected sugary products associates with thinness, but not overweight during preadolescence: a cross-sectional study.

Convincing evidence suggests that diets laden with added sugar, specifically sugar-sweetened beverages, associate with excess weight in children. The relationships between sugar consumption frequency and BMI remain less well studied. We, therefore, evaluated children's consumption frequency of selected sugary products (n 8461; mean age 11·1 (sd 0·9) years) selected from the Finnish Health in Teens cohort study.

Identifying flavor preference subgroups. Genetic basis and related eating behavior traits.

Subgroups based on flavor preferences were identified and their genetic and behavior related characteristics investigated using extensive data from 331 Finnish twins (21-25years, 146 men) including 47 monozygotic (MZ) and 93 dizygotic (DZ) pairs, and 51 twin individuals. The subgroup identification (hierarchical and K-means clustering) was based on liking responses to food names representing sour, umami, and spicy flavor qualities. Furthermore, sensory tests were conducted, a questionnaire on food likes completed, and various eating behavior related traits measured with validated scales.

Experiences of environmental odors among self-reported hyperosmics: a pilot study.

We investigated everyday odor experiences in 55 people (14-75 years old) who rated their sense of smell as far better than average. Compared to 55 gender- and age-matched controls, the self-reported hyperosmics scored higher on the Affective Impact of Odor Scale, rated negative consequences and unpleasant memories due to odors as more likely, rated environmental odors as more annoying, reported increased sensitivity to specific odors more frequently, paid more attention to odors, and agreed more strongly that their sense of smell has caused inconvenience to them. Based on these data, subjective hyperosmia is associated with primarily negative odor-related experiences.

Why do some like it hot? Genetic and environmental contributions to the pleasantness of oral pungency.

Although potential environmental influences on hedonic responses to oral pungency have been identified, little is known of the possible role of genetics underlying these responses. We explored the contribution of genetic and environmental influences on the pleasantness of oral pungency and spicy foods. Respondents were young adult Finnish twins (n=331, 21-25 years), including 47 complete monozygotic and 93 dizygotic twin pairs and 51 twin individuals without their co-twin.

Familiarity with and affective responses to foods in 8-11-year-old children. The role of food neophobia and parental education.

The present study investigated whether the familiarity with and affective responses to foods are predicted by the individual trait food neophobia and by parental education in school children. The cross-sectional data collection involved children (N=208, 8- and 11-year-old) from Helsinki, and their parents. A questionnaire assessing children's food neophobia with Food Neophobia Scale (FNS), and familiarity with and affective responses to 36 foods was completed by parents.

Genetic contribution to sour taste preference.

Genetic contribution to individual differences in sour taste perception and preference was investigated in a cohort of young adult Finnish twins (n=328, 21-25 years) including 46 complete monozygotic and 92 dizygotic twin pairs and 52 twin individuals without their co-twin. Responses to sour taste were recorded as pleasantness and intensity ratings of orange juice with added citric acid (4.2g/L) relative to untainted orange juice (sensory traits).

Conscripts' attitudes towards health and eating. Changes during the military service and associations with eating.

The study explores young men's (n=290) attitudes towards food and eating before and during military service and their associations with eating of sweet and fatty foods. Before service eating of sweet foods was associated negatively with health interest and positively with craving for sweet foods and using food as a reward, and eating of fatty foods negatively with health interest. At six months of service, craving, using food as a reward and pleasure increased, whereas health interest remained stable.

Pleasantness of the odor of androstenone as a function of sexual intercourse experience in women and men.

Androstenone (5α-androst-16-en-3-one) and other androstenes, body odor components occurring in apocrine secretions, may play a role in human chemosignaling. We hypothesized that the odor of androstenone may gain hedonic value from sexual intercourse experiences via associative learning. Young adults (N = 397, 61.

Individual astringency responsiveness affects the acceptance of phenol-rich foods.

Sensory responses greatly vary between individuals, and individual sensory experiences influence eating behaviour. Three groups responding differently to phenolic astringent stimuli (Low Responding, LR, n=20, Medium Responding, MR, n=37 and High Responding, HR, n=20) were identified from a population of 77 subjects, based on the maintenance vs fluctuation of salivary characteristics after repeated stimulation of the masticatory and taste/somatosensory systems. The effect of LR, MR and HR status on perceived astringency and liking for phenol-containing apple, grape and carrot juices spiked with increasing tannic acid (TA) concentrations was examined.

Food neophobia in young adults: genetic architecture and relation to personality, pleasantness and use frequency of foods, and body mass index--a twin study.

Food neophobia has been studied extensively in children, but its causal origins and relationship to eating behavior in adults are not well understood. We studied genetic and environmental effects on variation in food neophobia, measured using the Food Neophobia Scale, and explored associations between food neophobia and personality, pleasantness and use frequency of food groups, and body mass index in young adult twins (N = 1175, aged 20-25 years, 54.7% women).

Temporal changes of flavour and texture in cooked bologna type sausages as affected by fat and salt content.

Temporal changes of flavour (mushroom-like and saltiness) and texture (juiciness) in cooked bologna type sausages with different fat and salt content and containing selected volatile compounds (100 mg kg(-1) of 1-octen-3-ol and 200 mg kg(-1) of 2,6-dimethylpyrazine) were evaluated using time-intensity (TI) method. Preceding the TI study, descriptive profiles of sausages were determined. Release of volatiles was analysed by solid-phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS) and an instrumental texture analysis was also performed.

Reluctant trying of an unfamiliar food induces negative affection for the food.

Six unfamiliar foods were introduced to children (8-11 years old, n=72) who responded (yes/no) to questions as to whether they (1) had earlier seen, (2) had earlier tasted, (3) were willing to try, and (4) actually tried each food when given the opportunity. Pleasantness (if not tasted, expected pleasantness) of the foods was also rated. Children who wanted to try a food and tasted it, rated it pleasant.

Temporary modification of salivary protein profile and individual responses to repeated phenolic astringent stimuli.

The extent of the change in salivary protein characteristics after repeated stimulations was shown to be correlated to differences in perceived astringency. Salivary characteristics of 77 subjects were compared after masticatory (S1) and taste/masticatory (S2) stimulations. The variations (S2 minus S1) of protein concentration and saliva haze-forming capacity (HFC) were used to define 3 subject groups: low responding (LR, n = 20), medium responding (MR, n = 37), and high responding (HR, n = 20).

Self-ratings of olfactory function reflect odor annoyance rather than olfactory acuity.

Objective/hypothesis: Self-ratings of olfactory function often correlates poorly with results of objective smell tests. We explored these ratings relative to self-rating of odor annoyance, to odor identification ability, and to mean perceived intensity of odors, and estimated relative genetic and environmental contributions to these traits.

Participants And Methods: A total of 1,311 individual twins from the general population (62% females and 38% males, aged 10-83 years, mean age 29 years) including 191 monozygous and 343 dizygous complete twin pairs from Australia, Denmark, Finland, and the United Kingdom rated their sense of smell and annoyance caused by ambient smells (e.

The Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire, body mass index, and responses to sweet and salty fatty foods: a twin study of genetic and environmental associations.

Background: The relation between body weight and energy-dense foods remains unclear.

Objective: We estimated the effects of genetic and environmental factors on cognitive and emotional aspects of dieting behavior, body mass index (BMI), and responses to fatty foods and on their relations.

Design: A total of 1326 adult twin persons (aged 17-82 y; 17% M and 83% F) from the United Kingdom and Finland completed the revised version of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R18) and reported the liking and use-frequency of 4 sweet-and-fatty and salty-and-fatty food items (6 items in the United Kingdom and 5 items in Finland).

Environmental effects exceed genetic effects on perceived intensity and pleasantness of several odors: a three-population twin study.

Human genes encoding odorant receptors have been identified, but the contribution of genetic effects to total variation in specific odor perceptions is largely unknown. We estimated the relative contributions of genetic and environmental effects to variation in the perceived intensity and pleasantness of cinnamon, chocolate, turpentine, and isovaleric acid (sweaty) odors by quantitative genetic modeling of odor rating data from 856 twin individuals (including 83 complete monozygotic and 275 dizygotic twin pairs) aged 10-60 years (44% males and 56% females) from Australia, Denmark, and Finland. Results from fitting univariate models including components for additive genetic (A), shared environmental (C), and non-shared environmental (E) effects to the data implied that non-shared environmental effects account for the most variation in ratings of individual odors while genetic effects play only a minor role.

Same genetic components underlie different measures of sweet taste preference.

Background: Sweet taste preferences are measured by several often correlated measures.

Objective: We examined the relative proportions of genetic and environmental effects on sweet taste preference indicators and their mutual correlations.

Design: A total of 663 female twins (324 complete pairs, 149 monozygous and 175 dizygous pairs) aged 17-80 y rated the liking and intensity of a 20% (wt/vol) sucrose solution, reported the liking and the use-frequency of 6 sweet foods (sweet desserts, sweets, sweet pastry, ice cream, hard candy, and chocolate), and completed a questionnaire on cravings of sweet foods.

Genetic and environmental contributions to food use patterns of young adult twins.

The contribution of genetic factors to individual differences in food use was estimated in a large population-based twin cohort of young adults (22- to 27-year-old). Male and female twins (n=2009 complete twin pairs) evaluated use-frequencies of 24 food items using 5 categories (1=never-5=several times a day) in a postal questionnaire. Foods were categorized by factor analysis.

Sweet taste preferences are partly genetically determined: identification of a trait locus on chromosome 16.

Background: Humans have an innate preference for sweet taste, but the degree of liking for sweet foods varies individually.

Objective: The proportion of inherited sweet taste preference was studied. A genome-wide linkage analysis was performed to locate the underlying genetic elements in the genome.

Food neophobia shows heritable variation in humans.

Food neophobia refers to reluctance to eat unfamiliar foods. We determined the heritability of food neophobia in a family and a twin sample. The family sample consisted of 28 Finnish families (105 females, 50 males, aged 18-78 years, mean age 49 years) and the twin sample of 468 British female twin pairs (211 monozygous and 257 dizygous pairs, aged 17-82 years, mean age 55 years).

Hedonic responses as predictors of food choice: flexibility and self-prediction.

The association between liking and choices of six cheeses was examined. Particular attention was in hedonic flexibility, i.e.

Genetic component of identification, intensity and pleasantness of odours: a Finnish family study.

Although potential odorant receptor genes have been identified, the precise genetic component of perception of odours is still obscure. Although there is some evidence for heritability of a few olfactory-related traits, no genome-wide search for loci harboring underlying genes has been published to date. We performed a genome-wide scan to identify loci affecting the identification, intensity and pleasantness of 12 odours (cinnamon, turpentine, lemon, smoke, chocolate, rose, paint thinner, banana, pineapple, gasoline, soap, onion) using 146 Finnish adults from 26 families.