6533b86dfe1ef96bd12c924a

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Effects of olfactory priming on food choices in children: development of a new paradigm suitable for 6 to 11 year-olds

subject

description

Introduction: The question of the sensory determinants of food choices remains an open question. A better understanding of non-conscious processes impacting food choices could enable to elaborate new strategies to guide eating behaviors towards healthier food choices. Recent studies in adults (Gaillet et al., 2014; Chambaron et al., 2015) showed that a non-attentively perceived olfactory stimulus can impact subsequent food choices. The present study aims at adapting an olfactory priming paradigm to investigate the effects of non-attentively perceived food odours evoking healthy vs. non-healthy foods on food choices in children. Material and method: Recruitment and experiment are currently in progress. The objective is to recruit 60 school-aged children. During an experimental session in our laboratory, children performed a food choice intention task. This task was presented as a computer game in which 30 pairs of food images (healthy versus non-healthy) successively appeared on the screen. Children had to choose what they most wanted to eat at the present moment by selecting the appropriate food image. While performing this task, children wore a headset (which transmitted the rules of the game). The headset microphone foam was odorized with pear odour, pound cake odour or non-odorized. Children were not informed about it. They performed this task three times, one time for each olfactory condition. Results: We will analyse the frequency of healthy versus non-healthy food choices intentions and the reaction times for each olfactory prime (pear, pound cake) compared to the control condition (no odour). We expect that the olfactory primes increase congruent food choices: the non-attentively perceived pear odour could increase healthy food choices whereas the non-attentively perceived pound cake odour could increase non-healthy food choices. We also expect shorter reaction times for prime-congruent food choices. Conclusion: The present study describes a new tool to assess the impact of olfactory priming on food choices in children. One perspective of this research would be to disentangle children's reactivity to sensory environmental cues according to their temperament and weight status.