People are often exposed to actionable food temptations (i.e., an immediate opportunity to consume, like when friends offer cookies) and nonactionable food temptations (i.e., no immediate consumption opportunity, like ads for chocolate). The results of three experiments suggest that prior exposure to nonactionable food temptations does not prevent the activation of an eating goal, given a subsequent consumption opportunity, while prior exposure to actionable food temptations prevents such activation. As a consequence, prior exposure to actionable food temptations enhances self-control on a current consumption occasion, while prior exposure to nonactionable food temptations reduces it. (c) 2008 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..

for their valuable comments on earlier drafts of this paper. The first author was supported by grants G03.91 by the Fund for Scientific Research (Belgium) and grant OT/03/07 and OT/07/13 by the Research Board of the K.U.Leuven. Financial support by Rogil is gratefully acknowledged.

Marketers commonly assume that health claims attached to otherwise unhealthful food stimulate consumption because such claims offer justification for indulgence and reduce guilt. This article proposes a generalized theory of healthful indulgences, identifying when and why people overconsume versus regulate food intake in response to health claims. Four studies demonstrate that not all health claims are created equal. The authors suggest that the nature of the food attributes the claims emphasize—namely, functional versus hedonic—determines the extent of consumption of the indulgence. Health claims featuring functional attributes (e.g., “extra antioxidants”) trigger high levels of health-goal accessibility, which, together with simultaneously accessible indulgence goals attached to the indulgence, results in goal conflict. This conflict leads to reduced consumption of the food. In contrast, health claims featuring hedonic attributes (e.g., “low fat”) render health goals less accessible while accentuating the pleasure dimension of the food, resulting in lower goal conflict and increased consumption of the food. Implications for the food industry and public policy makers are discussed.

Using a priming procedure, the authors study the influence of associating low-fat snack products with contextual health references (e.g., words, such as diet and fiber) on the consumption of these products. Health primes increase consumption of low-fat potato chips (Study 1) and lead consumers to report that they are closer to their ideal weight (Study 2). These results indicate that associating lowfat products with health references may contribute to rather than solve the obesity problem, and they have useful implications for public policy and society.