Table_1_Effects of Coloring Food Images on the Propensity to Eat: A Placebo Approach With Color Suggestions.pdf

BackgroundResearch findings on the appetite-enhancing effect of the color red and the appetite-reducing effect of blue have been inconsistent. The present study used a placebo approach and investigated whether verbal suggestions can enhance color-appetite effects.
MethodA total of 448 women participated in two experiments. They viewed images with differently colored sweet foods (original color, blue, red, colorless (black-and-white); experiment 1; n = 217) or sweet foods on blue, red, white, and gray backgrounds; experiment 2; n = 231). Before viewing the images, half of the participants received information about the effects of red and blue food color on appetite (color suggestion). The other half received no suggestion. For each of the experiments, the reported propensity to eat (food wanting) was compared between the conditions.
ResultsAll colored food items were associated with a lower propensity to eat compared to the food items in the original color. The color suggestion (compared to no suggestion) additionally decreased the propensity to eat blue and black-and-white food items. Colored backgrounds did not influence food wanting.
ConclusionThis study demonstrated that red and blue coloring of visual food cues did not have the predicted effects on food wanting. However, the combination of specific food colors with specific color suggestions might be useful to change the willingness to eat sweet products.

背景：现有关于红色提升食欲、蓝色降低食欲的研究结论尚未统一。本研究采用安慰剂范式，探究言语暗示是否能够强化颜色-食欲效应。
方法：总计448名女性参与了两项实验。实验1（n=217）中，被试观看不同色彩的甜食图像，涵盖原图色彩、蓝色、红色、无色彩（黑白）版本；实验2（n=231）中，被试观看放置于蓝色、红色、白色及灰色背景上的甜食图像。图像观看前，半数被试接收关于红、蓝色食物色彩对食欲影响的相关信息（颜色暗示组），另一半则不接收任何暗示。在两项实验中，分别对比不同实验条件下被试报告的进食倾向（food wanting）。
结果：相较于原图色彩的甜食，所有有色食物均与更低的进食倾向相关。相较于无暗示组，颜色暗示组进一步降低了蓝色及黑白食物的进食倾向。有色背景未对进食倾向产生显著影响。
结论：本研究表明，视觉食物线索的红、蓝色色彩并未如预期般对进食倾向产生影响。但特定食物色彩与特定颜色暗示的结合，或可用于改变人们对甜食的进食意愿。