Offr Study

The purpose of this study is to investigate cultural differences in eating behaviour.

The OffR study will start in April 2022 and consists of an information meeting and 5 test sessions. On test session you will eat lunch at the university (helix) and you will be recorded on video. The exact schedule will be determined individually. The information meeting and test days will be scheduled over multiple weeks.

For this study we are looking for men and women who are willing to participate.

You are eligible to participate in this research when you:

• are between 18 and 55 years old.
• speak and understand English without difficulty
• have a BMI between 18.5-30 kg/m2 (BMI check), your weight has been pretty stable and you were not following a weight loss diet during the past two months.
• have a good appetite, and no difficulties with tasting, smelling, chewing, swallowing and/or eating
• eat three meals per day, around the same time of the day
• do not have braces (excluding a dental wire) or oral piercing
• do not use medication that influences your hormone levels or medication of which you notice or noticed in the past that it influences your appetite, taste, saliva production, chewing behaviour or when these side effects are mentioned in the description of your medication
• do not have an allergy or intolerance for any of the products used in this study and these products are not in conflict with your religion or living- or eating- habits. Products used in the study contain animal products, gluten, milk(lactose).
• are willing to shave facial hair such as a beard, because with a beard we cannot analyse eating behaviour.
• are in overall good health (see the information brochure)
• do not smoke or drink more than 21 servings of alcohol per week
• want to stop using drugs during the study period
• do not exercise more than 8 hours per week in total (not including walking or biking)
• are not an employee of the Division of Human Nutrition or a thesis student or intern at the chair group of Sensory Science and Eating Behaviour
• did not sign up for participating in another research study

What is expected from you?

To determine your eligibility for the study:

• you will join an online information meeting and visit the university 1x for a screening:
  • if you want to sign up immediately, you can sign an informed consent form after which you will fill in a short questionnaire. After that you rate pictures of food on familiarity and how much you like the food.
  • if you are not sure whether or not you would like to participate in the study you will have the opportunity to ask questions about the study. In case you later decide to participate we will make a new appointment for you to sign informed consent, fill in the questionnaire and rate the food pictures.

When you participate in this study:

• you will come to eat lunch 5 times +/- 40 min (Helix building)
• while you eat, we will record you on video to determine eating behavior
• you will fill in an appetite questionnaire before and after your meal
• there are some guidelines concerning food, drinking and exercise 24 hr before the start of a test session and during the test day itself.

What do we offer?

• a reimbursement of € 50 if you perform all test sessions
• free lunches for 5 days
• you contribute to scientific research