Post-Ingestive Sensations Driving Post-Ingestive Food Pleasure: A Cross-Cultural Consumer Study Comparing Denmark and China

Abstract

Culture is one of the main factors that influence food assessment. This cross-cultural research aimed to compare Chinese and Danish consumers in their post-ingestive drivers of Post-Ingestive Food Pleasure (PIFP). We define PIFP as a “subjective conscious sensation of pleasure and joy experienced after eating”. We conducted two in-country consumer studies in Denmark (n = 48) and in China (n = 53), measuring post-ingestive sensations and PIFP using visual analogue scale, for three hours following consumption of a breakfast meal. Key results revealed perceived Satisfaction, Mental, Overall and Physical wellbeing to be highly influential on PIFP in both countries. Moreover, Danish consumers perceived appetite-related sensations such as Satiety, Hunger, Desire-to-eat and In-need-of-food to be influential on PIFP, which was not the case in China. In China, more vitality-related sensations such as Energized, Relaxation and Concentration were found to be drivers of PIFP. These results suggest similarities but also distinct subtleties in the cultural constructs of PIFP in Denmark and in China. Focusing on Food Pleasure as a post-ingestive measure provides valuable output, deeper insights into what drives Food Pleasure, and, importantly, takes us beyond the processes only active during the actual eating event.

Possibilities for Maintaining Appetite in Recovering COVID-19 Patients

“…Food-related pleasure (and reward) within the appetite space has primarily focused on wanting and liking of food, prior to or during consumption, respectively. Though it has been argued that food-derived reward also depends on the mental and bodily well-being experienced after eating [ 44 ], this element has not been researched until recently [ 60 , 61 , 62 ]. ‘Post-ingestive food pleasure’ is defined as a subjective conscious sensation of pleasure and joy experienced after eating [ 62 ] and is driven by both mental and physical sensations, which can be measured via interoception.…”

“…Though it has been argued that food-derived reward also depends on the mental and bodily wellbeing experienced after eating [44], this element has not been researched until recently [60][61][62]. 'Post-ingestive food pleasure' is defined as a subjective conscious sensation of pleasure and joy experienced after eating [62] and is driven by both mental and physical sensations, which can be measured via interoception. Interoception functions as a basis for self-awareness and subjective feelings, and can provide insights into the extended appetite experience.…”

Current Trends in Food Health and Safety in Cross-Cultural Sensory and Consumer Science

“…These results suggest similarities but also distinct subtleties in the cultural constructs of PIFP in Denmark and in China. Duerlund et al (2020) overall suggested that focusing on food pleasure as a post-ingestive measure provides valuable output, deeper insights into what drives food pleasure, and, importantly, takes us beyond the processes only active during the actual eating event.…”

“…Furthermore, in the present volume, Laaksonen et al (2020) in Finnish and Chinese contexts looked at oat product concepts [ 14 ]. The authors present that oats and oat-based products were increasingly popular among consumers and the food industry, and whilst studies exist on the sensory characteristics of oats as such, previous studies focusing specifically on the pleasantness of oats, and especially investigations of a wide range of oat products eaten by European and Asian consumers, are scarce.…”

“…Specifically, we have brought together articles that encompass the wide scope of cross-cultural multidisciplinary research as alluded to above with perspectives in the space related to the determination of the key factors involved. The articles included can be considered to cover stakeholders in cross-cultural perception, from the senses, with respect to differences in sensitivity [ 7 , 8 , 9 ], on to consumer preferences [ 10 , 11 , 12 ], food pleasure and appetite [ 13 , 14 ], perception of food quality and safety [ 15 , 16 , 17 ], and finally key factors in relation to consumer adoption and label information in the market itself [ 18 , 19 ]. This collection of articles is in essence a snapshot of the wide focus and general relevance of sensory and consumer science in cross-cultural studies in food health and safety and we hope it inspires researchers to consider this very interesting and ever-growing space in their future work.…”