Food Choices and Gender

The experiment was conducted over a 3 week span on York University Campus. Data was collected on the same day and at the same time, once a week (October 1st, October 8th, October 15th, 2015) at approximately 2:45-3:45pm. Due to the lack of data collectors, the next set of diners were observed and tallied at 3:55-4:55pm. The same set of diners was rotated in a round robin schedule to accommodate for the different times measured. The average of the 3 days were then calculated. Diners were chosen based on the food options provided in their menu.Type of food served at each restuarant were divided into either healthy or non healthy. Each diners were categorized as either healthy or unhealthy. Diners categorized as healthy were defined as diners that served food that were high in fiber and low in fat. Diners categorized as nonhealthy were defined as diners that served food that were high in fat and low in fiber. Wendy's (unhealthy) was compared with Bistro (healthy, Popeyes (unhealthy) was compared with La Prep (healthy) and Hero Burger (unhealthy) was compared with Berries and Bloom (healthy). Diners had to be located in either the Student Center or York Lanes. Diners being compared also had to have the same foot traffic for better comparison. Gender was categorized as either male or female. Female were defined as having longer length in hair and wider hips than shoulders. Males were defined as having shorter length in hair and broader shoulders than hips. The number of females and males entering and leaving with food were tallied. The same procedure was repeated for 3 days.

本实验于约克大学校园（York University Campus）内开展，实验周期为三周。数据于每周固定日期的同一时段收集，具体为2015年10月1日、8日、15日，当日观测时段约为14:45至15:45。因数据采集人员数量不足，后续批次的用餐者于15:55至16:55接受观察与计数。为适配不同的观测时段，同一组用餐者采用循环轮换调度（round robin schedule）的方式进行安排，随后计算三日观测数据的平均值。用餐者的选取依据其所在餐厅菜单提供的餐食品类而定，各餐厅供应的餐食被划分为健康与非健康两类，对应的用餐者也相应分为健康与非健康两类：健康用餐者指选择高纤维、低脂肪餐食的人群，非健康用餐者则指选择高脂肪、低纤维餐食的人群。本次实验选取了三组对比餐厅：温迪汉堡（Wendy's，非健康）与小酒馆（Bistro，健康）、波派炸鸡（Popeyes，非健康）与La Prep（健康）、英雄汉堡（Hero Burger，非健康）与浆果与花海（Berries and Bloom，健康）。参与观测的用餐者需位于学生中心（Student Center）或York Lanes区域内，为保证对比的有效性，参与对比的餐厅需具备相同的客流规模。性别被划分为男性与女性两类：女性被定义为头发更长、髋部宽度大于肩部的人群，男性则被定义为头发更短、肩部宽度大于髋部的人群。研究人员统计了携带食物进出上述区域的男性与女性人数，上述实验流程于三日中重复开展。