Perception of a lower socio-economic status stimulates appetite

Recent research suggests that the psychological consequences of being in a disadvantaged position in society can stimulate appetite and increase nutrition, regardless of a person's ability to access healthier foods. These findings, from Nanyang Technological University of Singapore and the Singapore Institute of Clinical Sciences, add a new dimension to previous findings suggesting that the increased risk of obesity among poorer and more disadvantaged socioeconomic plan is mainly due to economic barriers that impede market access. healthier foods and other unhealthy behaviors badociated with poverty.

These intriguing findings, presented this week by Dr. Bobby Cheon at the Society's annual meeting for the study of ingestive behavior, involved giving research participants the feeling of having socio-economic resources inadequate in relation to other people and measure the effects on eating behaviors. The study participants were brought to compare the resources of financial, economic and social status (for example, a respected position in society) with others better or worse off than they. This approach of manipulating experimentally if people perceive themselves as having sufficient or insufficient socio-economic status compared to others has allowed researchers to test directly whether the mere perception of a socio-economic disadvantage has an influence on preferences and preferences. eating behaviors.

In many studies, researchers found that participants who were led to believe that they had fewer resources and opportunities than others consumed more calories from snacks and meals offered during the experiment. , used a larger portion of food and showed an increased ability to detect differences. in calories between drinks. Participants who experienced a sense of socioeconomic disadvantage also had high levels of ghrelin – often referred to as the "hunger hormone" – providing a biological explanation for the desire to eat more in these conditions.

"If the feelings of deprivation and inadequacy produced by perceived socio-economic inequality can stimulate appetite and food consumption, then it is possible that the feeling that important needs have been met could produce the opposite effect of reducing excessive food consumption, "Cheon said. To test this, the research participants were asked to write a daily gratitude diary for two weeks, in which they listed the things they were grateful for. Compared to a control group that wrote about events occurring each day, the male participants of the gratitude journal group showed a reduction in desired portions of a variety of foods.

Although poor access to healthy foods is often attributed to obesity among people of lower socioeconomic status, this research shows that the psychological consequences of social and economic inequalities also affect health. The research team plans to continue testing methods, such as increasing gratitude, to psychologically protect people against potentially unhealthy eating behaviors in response to perceived socio-economic inequities and insecurities.

More information:
Social inequality as an obesogenic environment: consequences for socioeconomic disparities in obesity. Presented in July 2019, Society for the Study of Ingested Behavior, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Provided by
Society for the study of ingested behavior