Food Futures Content Suite -
Every day we make an average of 200 decisions about food – that’s roughly one every 5 waking minutes. Why is there so much food noise? How do we respond to it? How is it affecting our nutrition and what can we do to support better outcomes? In a fascinating discussion with Dr Joanna McMillan and Dr Tamara Bucher we discussed these themes and more:
Every day we make an average of 200 decisions about food – that’s roughly one every 5 waking minutes. Why is there so much food noise? How do we respond to it? How is it affecting our nutrition and what can we do to support better outcomes? In a fascinating discussion with Dr Joanna McMillan and Dr Tamara Bucher we discussed these themes and more:
Every day we make an average of 200 decisions about food – that’s roughly one every 5 waking minutes. Why is there so much food noise? How do we respond to it? How is it affecting our nutrition and what can we do to support better outcomes? In a fascinating discussion with Dr Joanna McMillan and Dr Tamara Bucher we discussed these themes and more:
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There are a number of conscious and unconscious decisions about food, but the ‘food noise’ around us has been consistently increasing.
We discussed the DONE model (Determinants of Nutrition and Eating) and the significant impact that physical and digital environments play in shaping what we eat.
There is a direct correlation between the amount of food advertising we are exposed to and the amount we eat: the more advertising, the more we eat.
Food packaging and portion sizes are also a critical determinant affecting nutrition, with portion sizes increasing over the last decade, leading to increased consumption for fear of food wastage.
In physical spaces, Synaesthesia is being used more creatively to enhance the eating experience with music, odours and décor that amplify the eating experience…Tamara is running experiments with odours to make fruit and veg more appealing (but the odours must be congruent).
Traditional media also plays a key role in driving FOMO to experience ‘newness’, with Gen Z a far more conspicuous diner than previous generations, according to Time Out: they spend more to eat in venues so that they can share that experience online.
…but not everyone craves the new: Food Neophobes are actually scared of new types of food!
Social media can also be used for good to promote transparency in the food chain – another growing driver behind food choices.
Our understanding of nutrition is changing as our consumption of media and shopping habits change. Unfortunately, our collective culinary education is declining as a whole, leading us to rely more on convenience foods.
Yet, we should be mindful of ‘black and white’ definitions of ‘good’ vs ‘bad’ nutrition and ‘health’, as there is inconsistency and simplification in often-used terminology. For example, when South Australia banned ‘junk food advertising’ on government owned buses, trains and trams in July, the government’s definition of ‘junk food’ differed from FSA, which was different to Outdoor Media Assoc, which was different to how the health-star rating sees food.
Similarly, we should be more discerning about the difference between processed foods where the processing is a key part of increasing digestibility, palatability, longevity and even nutrition (as with pureed tomato, for example) and Ultra Processed Foods.
We even tapped into the role of our microbiome in influencing food choices, and how it can be affected by processed foods in particular.
There is definitely a need for educational support to make healthy eating easier, and retailers could play a significant role in this, as chief architects of both physical and digital environment.
One way to turn off the food noise is through GLP1 inhibitors, but these can increase the risk of malnourishment unless the (reduced) diet is well-balanced and nutrient-rich.
There are a number of conscious and unconscious decisions about food, but the ‘food noise’ around us has been consistently increasing.
We discussed the DONE model (Determinants of Nutrition and Eating) and the significant impact that physical and digital environments play in shaping what we eat.
There is a direct correlation between the amount of food advertising we are exposed to and the amount we eat: the more advertising, the more we eat.
Food packaging and portion sizes are also a critical determinant affecting nutrition, with portion sizes increasing over the last decade, leading to increased consumption for fear of food wastage.
In physical spaces, Synaesthesia is being used more creatively to enhance the eating experience with music, odours and décor that amplify the eating experience…Tamara is running experiments with odours to make fruit and veg more appealing (but the odours must be congruent).
Traditional media also plays a key role in driving FOMO to experience ‘newness’, with Gen Z a far more conspicuous diner than previous generations, according to Time Out: they spend more to eat in venues so that they can share that experience online.
…but not everyone craves the new: Food Neophobes are actually scared of new types of food!
Social media can also be used for good to promote transparency in the food chain – another growing driver behind food choices.
Our understanding of nutrition is changing as our consumption of media and shopping habits change. Unfortunately, our collective culinary education is declining as a whole, leading us to rely more on convenience foods.
Yet, we should be mindful of ‘black and white’ definitions of ‘good’ vs ‘bad’ nutrition and ‘health’, as there is inconsistency and simplification in often-used terminology. For example, when South Australia banned ‘junk food advertising’ on government owned buses, trains and trams in July, the government’s definition of ‘junk food’ differed from FSA, which was different to Outdoor Media Assoc, which was different to how the health-star rating sees food.
Similarly, we should be more discerning about the difference between processed foods where the processing is a key part of increasing digestibility, palatability, longevity and even nutrition (as with pureed tomato, for example) and Ultra Processed Foods.
We even tapped into the role of our microbiome in influencing food choices, and how it can be affected by processed foods in particular.
There is definitely a need for educational support to make healthy eating easier, and retailers could play a significant role in this, as chief architects of both physical and digital environment.
One way to turn off the food noise is through GLP1 inhibitors, but these can increase the risk of malnourishment unless the (reduced) diet is well-balanced and nutrient-rich.