Effects of busy mindset on preference for high-calorie foods

More people feel busier than ever. Recognising busyness as an environmental factor that influences food preferences is essential when considering health-related decisions. This research investigates how the subjective perception of busyness—which is referred to as a busy mindset—affects consumers’ f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inScientific reports Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 16838 - 9
Main Authors Ai, Yijie, Jiang, Min
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Nature Publishing Group UK 22.07.2024
Nature Publishing Group
Nature Portfolio
Subjects
631/477/2811
692/700/3160
692/700/478
704/844/4066/4065
704/844/4066/4080
Adolescent
Adult
Busyness
Calorie
Calories
Efficiency
Energy
Energy expenditure
Energy Intake
Energy Metabolism
Energy supply
Environmental factors
Experiments
Female
Food
Food consumption
Food preferences
Food Preferences - psychology
Humanities and Social Sciences
Humans
Male
multidisciplinary
Nutrition
Perceptions
Preferences
Questionnaires
Research ethics
Schedules
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult
Busyness
Calorie
Food preferences
Energy supply
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Summary:More people feel busier than ever. Recognising busyness as an environmental factor that influences food preferences is essential when considering health-related decisions. This research investigates how the subjective perception of busyness—which is referred to as a busy mindset—affects consumers’ food preferences via two studies. Study 1 was a laboratory experiment conducted using a manipulation method with 135 undergraduate student participants. Study 2 used an online self-report questionnaire to repeat the findings of Study 1 and including 209 social participants. The results from the two studies showed that a busy mindset induced individuals to prefer high-calorie foods, and energy expenditure efficiency mediated this effect. Moreover, the subjective perception of busyness increased individuals’ estimated need for calories and induced them to prefer high-calorie foods over high-nutrition or hedonic foods. These findings suggest that food preferences in the busy mindset have potential implications for individuals’ food consumption.
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ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-024-68075-6