Investigating the Relationship between Perceived Meal Colour Variety and Food Intake across Meal Types in a Smartphone-Based Ecological Momentary Assessment

Abstract

Although most people are aware of the health benefits of consuming sufficient amounts of fruit and vegetables, many do not adhere to current dietary recommendations. Recent studies have suggested meal colour variety as an intuitive cue for healthy and enjoyable lunch meal choices. The present study extends this research by testing the “colourful = healthy” association across meal types. Using smartphone-based Ecological Momentary Assessment, 110 participants recorded 2818 eating occasions over a period of eight days. For each eating occasion, a picture, a short written description of the meal, the meal type (breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, snack) and the perceived meal colour variety were recorded. Foods were classified into seven food groups based on the pictures and descriptions. Data were analysed using multilevel modelling. For all meal types except afternoon tea which did not include vegetables, perceived that meal colour variety was positively related to vegetable consumption (bs ≥ 0.001, ts ≥ 3.27, ps ≤ 0.002, quasi-R2s ≥ 0.06). Moreover, perceived meal colour variety was negatively associated with sweets consumption for breakfast, dinner and snacks (bs ≤ −0.001, ts ≤ −2.82, ps ≤ 0.006, quasi-R2s ≥ 0.01). The “colourful = healthy” association can be generalized across meal types and thus may be a promising strategy to promote a healthier diet.

The Use of Mobile-Based Ecological Momentary Assessment (mEMA) Methodology to Assess Dietary Intake, Food Consumption Behaviours and Context in Young People: A Systematic Review

“…An additional record was identified through forward chaining, which resulted in a total of 46 articles being included in this review. Data were extracted from each of the 46 articles and then merged with their respective studies where necessary (seven in total) and reported herein as independent studies ( n = 39) [ 8 , 9 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 ].…”

“…Fourteen studies were conducted in the United States [ 8 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 33 , 35 , 36 , 40 , 43 , 45 , 50 , 59 , 63 , 64 ], seven in Germany [ 37 , 39 , 41 , 61 , 62 , 65 , 66 , 67 ], six in Austria and Germany [ 49 , 51 , 52 , 56 ], five in Australia [ 38 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 57 , 58 ], two in Austria [ 53 , 54 ] and one each in China [ 60 ], Poland [ 31 , 32 ], Sweden [ 42 ], Taiwan [ 44 ] and the Netherlands [ 9 ]. All studies were observational studies, including 3 cohort studies and 36 cross-sectional studies ( Table 2 ).…”

“…One study sampled adolescents with lower socioeconomic status with 67% of participants identifying as Hispanic [ 27 , 28 , 29 ]. The mean BMI or percentile was reported in 27 studies [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 35 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 44 , 49 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 64 , 65 , 67 ]. All but two [ 31 , 32 , 33 ] studies had a majority of participants within the healthy BMI range of 20 to 24.9 kg/m 2 .…”

“…Among the 39 mEMA studies, 25 reported dietary intake data [ 9 , 24 , 26 , 27 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 35 , 36 , 39 , 41 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 48 , 50 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 57 , 58 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 65 , 66 ]. Of these studies, 14 examined intake of a variety of food, food groups and beverages [ 9 , 24 , 27 , 30 , 33 , 41 , 43 , 45 , 48 , 50 , 52 , 57 , 58 , 61 , 62 , 63 ], 2 assessed food intake only [ 65 , 66 ], 7 specifically focused on the intake of high energy foods and beverages [ 26 , 35 , 36 , 39 ,…”

“…Of these studies, 14 examined intake of a variety of food, food groups and beverages [ 9 , 24 , 27 , 30 , 33 , 41 , 43 , 45 , 48 , 50 , 52 , 57 , 58 , 61 , 62 , 63 ], 2 assessed food intake only [ 65 , 66 ], 7 specifically focused on the intake of high energy foods and beverages [ 26 , 35 , 36 , 39 , 44 , 53 , 54 ], 1 study examined intake of high-fat foods [ 31 , 32 ] and 1 assessed sugar-sweetened beverage consumption only [ 46 , 47 ]. In addition to dietary intake, 34 of the 39 studies examined associated food consumption behaviours [ 9 , 24 , 26 , 27 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 35 , 36 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , …”