Measurement Of Food Preferences

This book provides comprehensive coverage of the numerous methods used to characterise food preference. It brings together, for the first time, the broad range of methodologies that are brought to bear on food choice and preference. Preference is not measured in a sensory laboratory using a trained panel - it is measured using consumers by means of product tests in laboratories, central locations, in canteens and at home, by questionnaires and in focus groups. Similarly, food preference is not a direct function of sensory preference - it is determined by a wide range of factors and influences, some competing against each other, some reinforcing each other. We have aimed to provide a detailed introduction to the measurement of all these aspects, including institutional product development, context effects, variation in language used by consumers, collection and analysis of qualitative data by focus groups, product optimisation, relating prefer ence to sensory perception, accounting for differences in taste sensitivity between consumers, measuring how attitudes and beliefs determine food choice, measuring how food affects mood and mental performance, and how different expectations affect sensory perception. The emphasis has been to provide practical descriptions of current methods. Three of the ten first-named authors are university academics, the rest are in industry or research institutes. Much of the methodology is quite new, particularly the repertory grid coupled with Generalised Procrustes Analysis, Individualised Difference Testing, Food and Mood Testing, and the Sensory Expectation Models.

The role of the human senses in food acceptance, the socio-cultural context of eating and food choice, what animal research tells us about human eating, the developments of childresns eating habits, what does abnormal eating tell us about normal eating, the contextual basis for food acceptanc, food choice and food intake, marketing and consumer behaviour with respect to foods, economic influences on food choice, food choice,mood and mental performance, attitudes and belifs inf food habits, dietary change.

This book, edited and authored by a group of scientists experienced in European cross-cultural and interdisciplinary research in the field of consumer food perceptions, sensory evaluation, product image and risk research, delivers a unique insight into decision making and food consumption of the European consumer. The volume is essential reading for those involved in product development, market research and consumer science in food and agro industries and academic research. It brings together experts from different disciplines in order to address fundamental issues to do with predicting food choice, consumer behavior and societal trust into quality and safety regulatory systems. The importance of the social and psychological context and the cross-cultural differences and how they influence food choice are also covered in great detail.

This volume highlights recent research findings which elucidate the biological and behavioral underpinnings of childhood obesity. The book is divided into four sections: Perspectives, Determinants, Prevention, and Treatment. Topics include the social and psychological factors that comprise the obese child's world; eating patterns early in life and their influence on adiposity later in development; two types of opoid peptides, their respective receptor sites, and the effects they produce when released; putative relationships between food preferences and obesity; relationships between inactivity and obesity; design and implementation of school-based programs to prevent obesity in school children; medical care to the obese child and family; metabolic factors of dieting; the role of parental and family influences in childhood obesity; and treatment intervention. The book is a must for advanced graduate students and practitioners in medicine and psychology dealing with child health. It is an invaluable reference for clinicians and researchers alike.

Advances in food science, technology, and engineering are occurring at such a rapid rate that obtaining current, detailed information is challenging at best. While almost everyone engaged in these disciplines has accumulated a vast variety of data over time, an organized, comprehensive resource containing this data would be invaluable to have. The