Food Preferences
Conditions
Keywords
cognitive load, galvanic skin response, meal size, kilocalories, menu design
Brief summary
High cognitive load activities can influence energy intake from food. It is unknown how restaurant menu designs may affect patrons in terms of cognitive demand and subsequent ordering of food.Objective: Our objective was to develop and experimentally test menu designs that differ in cognitive load to test the subjective and objective stress measures on food ordering.
Detailed description
For the first experiment, a parallel randomized trial of healthy young adults (n= 30) was conducted to compare ordering from one of two menu designs (easy - E, hard - H) developed in a prior pilot study. In the second experiment, restrained eaters were specifically recruited and asked to fast before the experiment to determine the influence of cognitive load of menus on energy ordered (n=31). Galvanic skin response was used as an objective proxy for relative cognitive load, and questionnaires were used to assess perceptions of the menus. The main outcomes were the number of items ordered and total energy of the items ordered (in kilocalories).
Interventions
BEHAVIORALMenu design
Participants were given 5 minutes to order a hypothetical meal from the assigned test menu by circling all items they wanted to order.
Sponsors
Texas Tech University
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)
Masking description
Participants were blinded to treatment allocation.
Intervention model description
Parallel arm randomized controlled trial
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
19 Years to 35 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Experiment 1 Inclusion Criteria: * Normal vision or corrective lenses * Normal hearing or a hearing aid * A moderate level of English proficiency or greater * Free from current food restrictions
Exclusion criteria
* Unwilling/uninterested in participation * Currently taking any β-blocker medications * Any serious skin conditions on the hands (because of galvanic skin sensors worn for the protocol) Experiment 2 Inclusion Criteria: * Normal vision or corrective lenses * Normal hearing or a hearing aid * A moderate level of English proficiency or greater * Free from current food restrictions * Qualifying as a restrained eater by the Cognitive Restraint scale on the Eating Inventory (score of 6 for men and 10 for women)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Total Number of Items Ordered | During the 5-minute menu ordering task | Total number of items ordered off assigned menu |
| Total Energy of Items ordered | During the 5-minute menu ordering task | Total Energy (kcals) of items ordered off assigned menu |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Subjective ratings of difficulty of using assigned menu to order a meal | Immediately (1 minute) following the 5-minute menu ordering period | Assessed by NASA Task Load Index questionnaire |
| Galvanic Skin Response | During the 5-minute menu ordering task | An objective proxy for relative cognitive load; this measure has been shown to be positively correlated with psychological stress or cognitive challenge as mediated by sympathetic nervous system activity |
Outcome results
None listed