J. Heidekamp, S. Kremer, J. Mojet and L.P.A. Steenbekkers
Center for Innovative Consumer Studies, Wageningen University and Research Center, The Netherlands

The situation in which meals are consumed plays a central role both in food liking and in food intake. For example, the amount eaten increases in the presence of other people (De Castro, 2002).

So far, the majority of research on situational influences on eating behaviour is based on information gathered by means of questionnaires. However, very often a difference exists between what people say they do or will do and what their actual behaviour is.

Therefore, in the current explorative study the dynamics of actual eating behaviour is observed in five controlled “natural” situations: (1) eating alone, (2) eating together with a friend of the same sex, (3) eating together with a friend from the opposite sex, (4) eating together with a stranger from the same sex and (5) eating together with a stranger from the opposite sex. Four subjects (2 male, 2 female) visited five times the mood rooms of the Restaurant of the Future in Wageningen. Each time they were observed with cameras while they consumed a standard Dutch lunch in one of the five situations (1-5). Prior to the research, the participants were informed that they will be filmed during their visit to the mood rooms of the Restaurant of the Future and all of them signed an informed consent. The registered behaviour was coded using the Observer (Noldus) software for video data analysis.

Preliminary results indicate that there were situation-related differences in eating behaviour. Furthermore, man and women seem to differ in their susceptibility to situational factors.