Why people eat in a traditional or modern way: A cross-country study

News

Between July 14th and July 18th 2019, Prof. Dr. Paul Rozin, Dr. Claude Fischler, and Dr. Matthew Ruby visited Konstanz and gave talks.
 
On October 30th and 31st 2018, Prof. Dr. Paul Rozin and Dr. Claude Fischler visited Konstanz and gave talks. On Tuesday, October 30th, Prof. Dr. Paul Rozin talked about 'The Modern Food World: Meat, Morality, Technology and Sustainability'. On Wednesday, October 31st, Dr. Claude Fischler talked about 'Why Nutrition is (should be) a Social Science'. The full presentations can be viewed via the following links:
 
In December 2017, a project meeting was held in Naha, Okinawa, Japan with all project members.
 
In May 2017, Prof. Dr. Paul Rozin, Prof. Dr. Isato Furumitsu, Dr. Matthew Ruby, Dr. Claude Fischler, Dr. Martha Kaufer, Dr. Gulbanu Kaptan, and Dr. Naomi Arbit visited Konstanz for a kickoff meeting.

 

Awards

2018

Poster award, German Society for Internal Medicine, poster Rempe, H. M., Kiesswetter, E., Volkert, D., Sproesser, G., Sieber, C. C., & Freiberger, E.: „Die Rolle von Gesundheitsaspekten in der Essenswahl selbstständig lebender SeniorenInnen mit funktionellen Einschränkungen“ [„The role of health aspects in food choice of independently living older people with functional impairments”]

2017

Poster award, European Health Psychology Society (EHPS), poster Wahl, D. R., Villinger, K., Sproesser, G., Schupp, H. T., & Renner, B.: "The behavioral signature of snacking – a visual analysis"

 

Overview

Funding Period:
01/2017 - 12/2020
 
Project Group
  • Dr. Gudrun Sproesser, University of Konstanz, Germany (PI)
  • Prof. Dr. Britta Renner, University of Konstanz, Germany
  • Prof. Dr. Paul Rozin, University of Pennsylvania, USA
  • Prof. Dr. Harald Schupp, University of Konstanz, Germany
  • Dr. Matthew Ruby, La Trobe University, Australia
  • Dr. Naomi Arbit, BetterUp Inc., San Francisco, USA
Cooperation Partners
  • Prof. Dr. Charity Sylvia Akotia, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
  • Prof. Dr. Marle Alvarenga, University of Sao Paolo, Sao Paolo, Brazil
  • Prof. Dr. Rachana Bhangaokar, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, India
  • Prof. Dr. Sumio Imada, Hiroshima-Shudo University, Hiroshima, Japan
  • Prof. Dr. Usha Menon, Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA
  • Dr. Claude Fischler, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris, France
  • Dr. Gulbanu Kaptan, Centre for Decision Research, Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds, UK
  • Dr. Martha Kaufer, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubiran, Tlalpan, Mexico
  • Prof. Dr. Isato Furumitsu, Hiroshima-Shudo University, Hiroshima, Japan
  • Dr. Xiaomeng Hu, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

Project Description

Today, our modern eating patterns in the Western world are characterized by a high consumption of ultra-processed foods or eating out of home. In contrast, there are countries in which there are still more traditional eating patterns, such as local food consumption and family meals. However, countries across the world are experiencing a nutrition transition towards modern eating patterns. Without question, the modern food environment has brought advantages but coming to its extremes it has led to an increase in chronic diseases whereas traditional eating appears to be protective against these. Surprisingly, little research has asked the question why people eat in a traditional or modern way and this research is impeded by different conceptualizations of traditional and modern eating. Moreover, most studies focused only on single facets of traditional eating, single influencing factors, and single (Western) countries. However, thereby research on the question why people eat in a traditional or modern way is fragmented, study results are poorly comparable, and conclusions can only be drawn with caution.

The current project aims to fill in this gap by providing a comprehensive systematization and assessment of traditional and modern eating. Furthermore, taking a cross-country perspective, it aims to provide a comprehensive understanding which psychological factors underlie these eating patterns in countries that differ in the degree to which they have moved through the nutrition transition. Specifically, the current project asks the question which eating motives are associated with traditional and modern eating patterns. Thereby, it takes a comprehensive approach by investigating why countries differ in traditional eating as well as why individuals differ.

Ten countries were selected to be studied in the current project: Ghana, India, China, Turkey, Mexico, Japan, Brazil, France, Germany, and the USA. To answer the research questions, literature reviews, phone interviews with experts in eating culture, as well as online surveys with representative samples and nutrition experts will be performed in all ten countries. Moreover, face-to-face interviews will be conducted in the six middle-income countries. In sum, through the compilation of the different conceptualizations of traditional and modern eating, the current project will facilitate future research on this behavior as well as on its causes and consequences. Moreover, through the international approach, it will give a unique and comprehensive insight into psychological factors underlying traditional and modern eating behavior across a wide range of individuals and countries.

Publications

Szymczak, H., Keller, L., Debbeler, L. J., Kollmann, J., Lages, N. C., Sproesser, G., Gollwitzer, P. M., Schupp, H. T., & Renner, B. (in press). “I’m eating healthy now”: The relationship bet-ween perceived behavior change and diet. Food Quality & Preference.

König, L. M.*, Sproesser, G.*, Schupp, H. T., & Renner, B. (2020). Preference for Intuition and Deliberation in eating decision making: Scale validation and association with health. British Journal of Health Psychology. doi: 10.1111/bjhp.12460 *Both authors contributed equally.

Rempe, H. M., Sproesser, G., Hannink, A., Skurk, T., Brandl, B., Hauner, H., Renner, B., Volkert, D., Sieber, C. C., Freiberger, E., & Kiesswetter, E. (2020). The relationship between healthy eating motivation and protein intake in community-dwelling older adults with varying functional status. Nutrients, 12, 662. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12030662

Wahl, D. R., Villinger, K., Blumenschein, M., König, L., Ziesemer, K., Sproesser, G., Schupp, H.T. & Renner, B. (2020). Why we eat what we eat: Assessing dispositional and in-the-moment eating motives by using Ecological Momentary Assessment. JMIR mHealth & uHealth, 8(1), e13191. doi: 10.2196/13191

Klusmann, V., Sproesser, G., Wolff, J. K., & Renner, B. (2019). Positive self-perceptions of aging promote healthy eating behavior and social-cognitive processes explain why. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 74, 735-744. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbx139

Rempe, H. M., Sproesser, G., Gingrich, A., Spiegel, A., Skurk, T., Brandl, B., Hauner, H., Volkert, D., Sieber, C. C., Renner, B., Freiberger, E., Kiesswetter, E. (2019). Measuring eating motives in older adults with and without functional impairments with The Eating Motivation Survey (TEMS). Appetite, 137, 1-20. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2019.01.024.

Sproesser, G., Moraes, J. M. M., Renner, B., & Alvarenga, M. S. (2019). The Eating Motivation Survey in Brazil. Results from a sample of the general adult population. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02334

Sproesser, G., Ruby, M. B., Arbit, N., Akotia, C. S., Alvarenga, M. d. S., Bhangaokar, R., … Renner, B. (2019). Understanding traditional and modern eating: The TEP10 framework. BMC Public Health, 19, 1606. doi:10.1186/s12889-019-7844-4

Wahl, D. R., Villinger, K., Blumenschein, M., König, L., Ziesemer, K., Sproesser, G., Schupp, H.T. & Renner, B. (2019). Why we eat what we eat: Comparison of dispositional and in-the-moment assessed eating motives. JMIR mHealth & uHealth.

Warschburger, P., Sproesser, G., Zahn, D., & Lin, J. (2019). Approbation für psychologische Anwendungsfächer - Sichtweise der Fachgruppe Gesundheitspsychologie. Psychologische Rundschau, 70 (4), 264-265.

König, L. M., Sproesser, G., Schupp, H. T., & Renner, B. (2018). Describing the process of adopting nutrition and fitness apps: Behavior stage model approach. JMIR mHealth & uHealth, 6(3):e55. doi: 10.2196/mhealth.8261

Sproesser, G., Imada, S., Furumitsu, I., Rozin, P., Ruby, M., Arbit, N., Fischler, C., Schupp, H.T., & Renner, B. (2018). What constitutes traditional and modern eating? The case of Japan. Nutrients, 10, 118. doi:10.3390/nu10020118

Sproesser, G., Ruby, M. B., Arbit, N., Rozin, P., Schupp, H. T., & Renner, B. (2018). The Eating Motivation Survey: Results from the USA, India, and Germany. Public Health Nutrition, 21, 515-525. doi:10.1017/S1368980017002798

Warschburger, P., Sproesser, G., Zahn, D. (2018). Methoden sind wichtig, Inhalte aber genauso. Stellungnahme zum Positionspapier zur Rolle der Psychologischen Methodenlehre in Forschung und Lehre. Psychologische Rundschau, 69 (4), 340 – 341.

Arbit, N., Ruby, M. B., Sproesser, G., Renner, B., Schupp, H. T., & Rozin, P. (2017). Spheres of moral concern, moral engagement, and food choice in the USA, India, and Germany. Food Quality and Preference, 62, 38-45. doi: 10.1016/j.foodqual.2017.06.018

Klusmann, V., Sproesser, G., Wolff, J. K., & Renner, B. (2017). Positive self-perceptions of aging promote healthy eating behavior and social-cognitive processes explain why. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbx139

Sproesser, G., Klusmann, V., Ruby, M. B., Arbit, N., Rozin, P., Schupp, H. T., & Renner, B. (2017). The Positive Eating Scale: Relationship with objective health parameters and validity in Germany, the USA, and India. Psychology & Health, 33, 313-339. doi: 10.1080/08870446.2017.1336239

Sproesser, G., Klusmann, V., Schupp, H. T., & Renner, B. (2017). Self-other differences in perceiving why people eat what they eat. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 209. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00209

Wahl, D. R., Villinger, K., Sproesser, G., Schupp, H. T., & Renner, B. (2017). The behavioral signature of snacking – A visual analysis. European Health Psychologist, 19(5), 355-356.

 

Bachelor and Master Theses

Franziska Biekert (2020). Einfluss von traditionellem und modernem Essverhalten auf Gesundheit und Wohlbefinden: Ein Literatur-Review. Bachelor thesis. University of Konstanz

Lisa Fleuchaus (2020). The Psychology of Food Avoidances in Samples from Germany, India, and the USA. Bachelor thesis. University of Konstanz

Bianca Wassmann (2019). The Perceived Healthiness, Taste and Safety of Modern Foods - A Comparison between Germany, the USA and Ghana. Master thesis. University of Konstanz

Katzenberger, Desiree (2018). Traditionelles und modernes Essverhalten: Ein Ländervergleich. Master thesis. University of Konstanz

Roessler, Lotte (2018). Traditionelles und modernes Essverhalten: Ergebnisse aus der Konstanzer Life-Studie. Master thesis. University of Konstanz

Appelius, Lisann (2017). Preference for Intuition and Deliberation in eating decision making: Scale validation and association with health. Bachelor thesis. University of Konstanz

Oldenbürger, Sina (2017). Was beinhaltet traditionelles und modernes Essverhalten in Deutschland? Bachelor thesis. University of Education Schwäbisch Gmünd

 

Conference Presentations

Symposia

Sproesser, G. (2019). Gesundheitspsychologie im interkulturellen Kontext. Symposium auf dem 14. Kongress der Fachgruppe Gesundheitspsychologie der DGPs, Greifswald.

Sproesser, G. (2017). A biopsychosocial view on eating behavior. Symposium at the 31st Confer-ence of the EHPS, Padua, Italy.

Sproesser, G., & König, L. M. (2017). Eating behavior: New insights into ist assessment, analy-sis, and relationship with objective health parameters. Symposium at the 13th Congress of the subdivision Health Psychology in the German Psychological Association (DGPs), Siegen.

 

Citable Abstracts

König, L.M., Sproesser, G., Schupp, H., & Renner, B. (2018). Ein psychologisches Stufenmodell zur Beschreibung der Bereitschaft zur Nutzung von Gesundheitsapps. In Hartig, J. & Horz, H. (Eds), 51. Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Psychologie, 817. Lengerich: Pabst Science.

Renner, B., Villinger, K., Wahl, D. R., König, L. M., Ziesemer, K., Sproesser, G., Butscher, S., Müller, J., Reiterer, H., & Schupp, H. (2018). Happy eater: A mobile intervention for boosting experienced eating. In Hartig, J. & Horz, H. (Eds), 51. Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Psychologie, 707. Lengerich: Pabst Science.

Sproesser, G. (2018). Faszination Essverhalten: Mehr als Kalorien und Gesundheit. In Hartig, J. & Horz, H. (Eds), 51. Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Psychologie, 611-612. Lengerich: Pabst Science.

Villinger, K., Wahl, D. R., Sproesser, G., Schupp, H. T., & Renner, B. (2018). Visuelle Analyse der Verhaltenssignatur des Frühstücksverhaltens: Häufigkeit, Zeitpunkt und Dauer. In Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung e.V. (DGE) (Ed.), Proceedings of the German Nutrition Society: Abstractband zum 55. Wissenschaftlichen Kongress, 32. Bonn: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung e.V. (DGE).

Wahl, D. R., Villinger, K., Sproesser, G., Schupp, H. T., & Renner, B. (2018). Visuelle Analyse der Verhaltenssignatur von Snacking. In Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung e.V. (DGE) (Ed.), Proceedings of the German Nutrition Society: Abstractband zum 55. Wissenschaftlichen Kongress, 32. Bonn: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung e.V. (DGE).

Klusmann, V., Wolff, J., Sproesser, G., Renner, B. (2017). How and for whom do positive views on aging promote healthy eating behavior? Innovation in Aging, 1, Suppl. 1, 938―939. doi:10.1093/geroni/igx009

König, L. M., Sproesser, G, Schupp, H., & Renner, B. (2017). Who is willing to use mHealth apps? A stage model approach. The European Health Psychologist, 19 Supp., 611.

Sproesser, G., Klusmann, V., Ruby, M. B., Arbit, N., Rozin, P., Schupp, H. T., & Renner, B. (2017). The Positive Eating Scale: Relationship with objective health parameters and validity in Germany, the USA, and India. In A. Schorr (Ed.), Health Psychology 2017: Kurzfassungen, 78-79. Lengerich: Pabst Science.

Sproesser, G., Klusmann, V., Ruby, M. B., Arbit, N., Rozin, P., Schupp, H. T., & Renner, B. (2017). The Positive Eating Scale: Relationship with objective health parameters and validity in Germany, the USA, and India. The European Health Psychologist, 19 Supp., 558.

Villinger, K., Wahl, D. R., Sproesser, G., Schupp, H. T., & Renner, B. (2017). Visuelle Analyse der Verhaltenssignatur unserer Ernährung: Beispiel Frühstück. In A. Schorr (Ed.), Health Psychology 2017: Kurzfassungen, 76-77. Lengerich: Pabst Science.

Villinger, K., Wahl, R. D., Sproesser, G., Schupp, H. T., & Renner, B. (2017). A visual analysis of the bahvioral signature of eating: The case of breakfast. The European Health Psychologist, 19 Supp., 689.

Wahl, D.R., Villinger, K., Sproesser, G., Schupp, H.T., & Renner, B. (2017). Visuelle Analyse der Verhaltenssignatur unserer Ernährung: Beispiel Snacking. In A. Schorr (Ed.), Health Psychology 2017: Kurzfassungen, 74-75. Lengerich: Pabst Science.

Wahl, D.R., Villinger, K., Sproesser, G., Schupp, H.T., & Renner, B. (2017). The behavioral signature of snacking - a visual analysis. The European Health Psychologist, 19 Supp., 1031.

 

Presentations

Rempe, H. M., Sproesser, G., Gingrich, A., Spiegel, A., Hauner, H., Skurk, T., Brandl, B., Renner, B., Volkert, D., Sieber, C. C., Freiberger, E., Kiesswetter, E. (2019). Der „Eating Motivation Survey“ (TEMS) zur Messung von Essmotiven älterer Menschen mit und ohne funktionellen Einschränkungen. Vortrag, 56. Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Ernährung e.V., Gießen.

Sproesser, G., Ruby, M. B., Arbit, N., Akotia, C. S., Alvarenga, M., Bhangaokar, R., Furumitsu, I., Hu, X., Imada, S., Kaptan, G., Kaufer, M., Menon, U., Fischler, C., Rozin, P., Schupp, H. T., & Renner, B. (2019). Homogen oder heterogen? Eine psychologische Operationalisierung von Kultur durch traditionelles und modernes Essverhalten. Vortrag, 14. Kongress der Fachgruppe Gesundheitspsychologie der DGPs, Greifswald.

Sproesser, G., Ruby, M. B., Arbit, N., Akotia, C. S., Alvarenga, M., Bhangaokar, R., Furumitsu, I., Hu, X., Imada, S., Kaptan, G., Kaufer, M., Menon, U., Fischler, C., Rozin, P., Schupp, H. T., & Renner, B. (2019). Understanding traditional and modern eating: The TEP10 framework. Vortrag, 33. Konferenz der European Health Psychology Society, Dubrovnik, Kroatien.

Wahl, D. R., Villinger, K., Blumenschein, M., König, L. M., Ziesemer, K., Sproesser, G., Schupp, H. T., & Renner, B. (2019). Hunger, health or pleasure? Comparison of dispositional and in-the-moment assessed eating motives. Vortrag, 33. Konferenz der European Health Psychology Society, Dubrovnik, Kroatien.

Rempe, H.M., Kiesswetter, E., Volkert, D., Sproesser, G., Sieber, C.C., & Freiberger, E. (2018). Die Rolle von Gesundheitsaspekten in der Essenswahl selbstständig lebender SeniorenInnen mit funktionellen Einschränkungen. Poster auf dem 124. Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Innere Medizin, Mannheim.

Renner, B., Villinger, K., Wahl, D. R., König, L. M., Ziesemer, K., Sproesser, G., Butscher, S., Müller, J., Reiterer, H., & Schupp, H. T. (2018). Happy eater: A mobile intervention for boosting experienced eating. Vortrag auf der 32. Konferenz der European Health Psychology Society, Galway, Irland.

Sproesser, G. (2018). Warum wir essen, was wir essen. Vortrag auf dem 9. Ludwigshafener Diabetes Symposium, Ludwigshafen.

Sproesser, G. (2017). Why we eat, what we eat: What drives normal eating behavior? Gastvortrag an der Universität Mannheim (Prof. Dr. Jutta Mata).

Sproesser, G. (2017). Always look on the bright side of … eating. Vortrag auf dem 11. Physiokongress, Stuttgart.

Sproesser, G. (2017). Always look on the bright side of … eating. Vortrag auf der Langen Nacht der Wissenschaft, Universität Konstanz.

Sproesser, G. (2017). Gesundheitsziele setzen und verfolgen. Vortrag auf dem 11. Physiokongress, Stuttgart.

 

In the Media

Im Alter ist proteinreiche Ernährung besonders wichtig. 10/2020. Kompetenzzentrum für Ernährung.

Mit Wissenstransfer in eine nachhaltige Zukunft. 05/2020. uni’kon #72.

Wie Ernährung sich gewandelt hat. 03/2020. Stiftung Warentest.

Wie essen wir? 04.03.2020. Konstanzer Anzeiger.

Vom Wandel des Essverhaltens. 21.01.2020. Bremer Nachrichten.

Ernährung im Wandel. 20.01.2020. Die Fleischerei.

Forscher untersuchen Trends beim Essen. 17.01.2020. Südkurier Radolfzell.

Essenverhalten gestern und heute. 08.01.20. Bundeszentrum für Ernährung.

Forscher untersuchen Trends beim Essen. 07.01.2020. Südkurier.

Früher war auch das Essen besser? – Essverhalten gestern und heute. 04.01.2020. Deutschland-radio Kultur.

Mobile Health App User Behavior. Stage And Engagement. 18.06.2018. Nudgecoach.

Abgestempelt! Essverhalten verstehen. 02.2018. Seniorenratgeber.

Bio-Lebensmittel suggerieren höheren Lebensstandard. 15.02.2017. Deutschlandradio Kultur.