Food-to-mealtime associations influence food selection in a UK-based sample

Objective: To explore the extent to which food-to-mealtime associations influence food choice when portion sizes are manipulated. Methods: Participants (n=215) were shown 11 well-known foods via online questionnaire. Participants were asked about previous consumption, mealtime-appropriateness and preference to consume typical breakfast and lunch foods when portion sizes were manipulated in different mealtime scenarios. Results: Ten out of 11 foods were considered mealtime-specific. When breakfast and lunch food portions were equal, congruous foods for the mealtime were preferred. At breakfast, smaller portions of breakfast foods were preferred to larger portions of lunch foods. However, at lunch, larger portions of breakfast foods were preferred to smaller portions of lunch foods. Conclusions and Implications: Food choice is influenced by food-to-mealtime associations but may be moderated circumstantially by the interaction of appropriateness, perceived volume and expected satiety. Findings suggest that on-pack specification of mealtime appropriateness may increase the potential for foods to be selected