Ruda I, Freiherr J (2025)
Publication Language: English
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2025
Book Volume: 14
Article Number: 100441
DOI: 10.1016/j.sctalk.2025.100441
In today's fast-paced world, consuming food while engaging in other activities has become common. Importantly, such distracted eating is associated with increased food intake and rising body weight (Robinson et al., 2013; Van Meer et al., 2022). In this talk, we summarize findings from our studies exploring how cognitive distraction influences taste and odor perception — with a focus on intensity and pleasantness perception — and whether these effects vary by weight status and gender (Ruda et al., 2024a; Ruda et al., 2024b). Fifty-nine participants formed two study groups — normal-weight (mean BMI = 22.2 kg/m2, range 19.5–24.8 kg/m2) and overweight/obese (mean BMI = 30.3 kg/m2, range 25–39 kg/m2). Participants played a Tetris game while evaluating taste and smell stimuli delivered automatically during the trials. Our findings indicate that distraction reduced taste intensity perception, particularly in individuals from the overweight/obese group. In contrast to our prior findings, odor intensity perception did not decrease (Hoffmann-Hensel et al., 2017; Schadll et al., 2021). The pleasantness of both taste and odor declined under distraction, an effect most evident in normal-weight participants and particularly pronounced in males. We hypothesize that this reduction in pleasantness might have a dual effect on eating behavior: it could decrease the perception of palatability of foods, acting as a control against overeating, or conversely, trigger a compensatory drive for more rewarding foods, potentially increasing intake during distraction. These two opposing mechanisms remain to be tested empirically. Our findings highlight the role of chemosensory perception in developing targeted interventions to curb overeating and manage obesity.
APA:
Ruda, I., & Freiherr, J. (2025). Weight status and gender modulate distraction-induced effects on chemosensory perception. Science Talks, 14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sctalk.2025.100441
MLA:
Ruda, Iryna, and Jessica Freiherr. "Weight status and gender modulate distraction-induced effects on chemosensory perception." Science Talks 14 (2025).
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