Sensory and normative external cues in the control of human food intake

对肥胖流行的解释通常将环境食物因素作为主要因素。大量的食物、美味的食物和无处不在的广告是导致暴饮暴食的最常见原因。这些环境因素是“外部”食物或饮食线索，已经进行了40年的实验研究。一些研究发现，人们对这种外部食物线索反应强烈，而另一些研究发现，只有某些类型的人反应强烈。这种令人困惑的模式阻碍了这一领域的研究。本研究探索了外部食物和进食线索的新概念，区分了感官和规范的外部线索。感官线索是指食物本身对感官有吸引力的方面（例如，食物诱人的气味、外观或味道）。规范线索是饮食情况的各个方面，它表明吃多少食物是合适的（例如，份量大小，对自己最近吃了多少的信念）。对文献的仔细研究表明，感觉线索对某些类型的人（即那些超重和/或节食和/或饥饿的人）有特别强大的影响，而规范线索对所有类型的人都有强大的影响。本研究探讨了提出的感觉-规范区分，试图(a)确认这两种类型的外部线索对人的影响不同的概念，(b)探索感官线索之间的参数变化，(c)系统地调查规范线索的范围。这项研究有望改变我们对外部食物和饮食线索是什么以及它们是如何运作的看法。这种修正后的观点可能有助于我们更好地理解控制人们食物摄入的因素，也许有助于理解和对抗肥胖的流行。

Explanations for the obesity epidemic often refer to environmental food cues as prominent contributors. Large portion sizes, access to highly palatable food, and pervasive advertising are among the most commonly cited causes of overeating. These environmental factors are "external" food or eating cues, which have been studied experimentally for 40 years. Some research has found that people respond powerfully to such external food cues, whereas other research has found that only certain types of people respond strongly. This confusing pattern has held back research in this area. The present research explores a new conceptualization of external food and eating cues, distinguishing between sensory and normative external cues. Sensory cues as aspects of the food itself that appeal to the senses (e.g., the attractive smell, appearance, or taste of food). Normative cues are aspects of the eating situation that suggest how much food it is appropriate to eat (e.g., portion size, beliefs about how much one has eaten recently). Close examination of the literature suggests that sensory cues have a particularly powerful effect on certain types of people (i.e., those who are overweight and/or dieting and/or hungry), whereas normative cues have a powerful effect on all types of people. The present research explores the proposed sensory-normative distinction, attempting to (a) confirm the notion that these two types of external cues affect people differently, (b) explore parametric variations among sensory cues, and (c) systematically survey the range of normative cues. This research promises to change our view of what external food and eating cues are and how they operate. This revised view may help us to better understand the factors that control people's food intake and will perhaps assist in understanding and combating the obesity epidemic.