The Relationship between Social Anhedonia and Perceived Pleasure from Food—An Exploratory Investigation on a Consumer Segment with Depression and Anxiety

Abstract

Anhedonia, the diminished ability to experience pleasure, is a key symptom of a range of mental and neurobiological disorders and is associated with altered eating behavior. This research study investigated the concept of anhedonia in relation to mental disorders and the perception of pleasure from food to better understand the link between anhedonia and eating behavior. A consumer survey (n = 1051), including the Food Pleasure Scale, the Chapman Revised Social Anhedonia Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire, and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale, was conducted to explore the perception of pleasure from food among people with anhedonic traits. Comparative analyses were performed between people with symptoms of depression and/or anxiety and people with no symptoms of these conditions. A segmentation analysis was furthermore performed based on three levels of anhedonia: Low, Intermediate and High anhedonia. Thus, insights into how food choice and eating habits may be affected by different levels of anhedonia are provided for the first time. Our findings showed that the ‘Low anhedonia’ segment found pleasure in all aspects of food pleasure, except for the aspect ‘eating alone’. ‘Eating alone’ was, however, appreciated by the ‘Intermediate anhedonia’ and ‘High anhedonia’ segments. Both the ‘Intermediate anhedonia’ and ‘High anhedonia’ segments proved that their perceptions of food pleasure in general were affected by anhedonia, wherein the more complex aspects in particular, such as ‘product information’ and ‘physical sensation’, proved to be unrelated to food pleasure. For the ‘High anhedonia’ segment, the sensory modalities of food were also negatively associated with food pleasure, indicating that at this level of anhedonia the food itself is causing aversive sensations and expectations. Thus, valuable insights into the food pleasure profiles of people with different levels of anhedonia have been found for future research in the fields of mental illness, (food) anhedonia, and consumer behaviors.

Measuring Pleasure from Food—Validation of the Food Pleasure Scale by Multiple Techniques and Mixed Methods

“…The combined results of the current study and former studies using an early version of the FPS [27][28][29][30] have proven the applicability of the scale for use in the assessment of both individual food pleasure profiles as well as profiling of consumer segments in different cultures and consumer groups. If the FPS is intended to be used as a diagnostic tool for individuals with anhedonic symptoms, it would be recommended to modify the questionnaire to allow for the calculation of an FPS score.…”

“…The current authors used an early version of the FPS in multiple consumer studies [27][28][29][30]. These studies were all designed as consumer surveys, and each focused on clarifying the scale's usage potential and sensitivity by clarifying regularly occurring differences among different consumer segments and if disease-related anhedonic traits were associated with food-related anhedonic traits.…”

“…For example, one study focused on cross-cultural differences in drivers of food-related pleasure [27], and another examined consumer segments' characteristics in relation to the main drivers of food pleasure [28]. The remaining two focused on presumed anhedonic consumer groups, specifically individuals experiencing chronic stress [29], and whether anhedonic traits associated with depression or anxiety could be recognized in drivers of food-related pleasure [30]. These studies have demonstrated the applicability and appropriateness of the FPS for various scientific purposes and contexts.…”