This Christmas lecture is organised by IFST Western Branch
Summary:
The social and cultural significance of food is woven into every aspect of our dietary behaviour, and it contributes to our complex interaction with food. To find order within this complexity scientists often look for dietary 'universals' - phenomena or basic principles that guide our food choice and meal size, irrespective of the wider context. One idea is that sensory characteristics provide a signal for dietary composition (e.g., sweet taste signals carbohydrate). Others have suggested that behaviour is guided by learning and is based on associations that form between the flavour of a food and its post-ingestive effects. Despite a large body of research, evidence supporting both processes is equivocal, leading some to conclude that humans are largely indifferent to food composition. Here, I will propose an alternative interpretation - that human abilities to gauge the nutritional composition or value of food have been underestimated, and that these abilities reflect a complex form of social learning, in which flavour-nutrient associations are not only formed but are communicated and amplified across individuals in the form of a shared cuisine.
What participants will learn about:
Alternate view of dietary decisions.
Target Audience:
IFST Western Branch members and friends.
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Speaker: Jeff Brunstrom - Nutrition and Behaviour Unit, School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, UK. Jeff Brunstrom was awarded his Ph.D. from the University of Birmingham (UK). In 1999 he became a lecturer in the Department of Human Sciences at Loughborough University (UK) and in 2005 he moved to the University of Bristol (UK). His current position is Professor of Experimental Psychology. Jeff co-leads the Nutrition and Behaviour Unit in the School of Psychological Science. Major research themes include appetite, memory and cognition, expected satiety, dietary learning, eating behaviour, portion size, and food choice, and Jeff has published over 140 papers on these topics. His research has been supported by a range of funding agencies, including the BBSRC, MRC, ESRC, EU-FP7, and NIHR. Jeff serves several advisory roles, and he leads ‘Consumer Lab’, which fosters collaboration between industry and academic researchers and forms part of the BBSRC-OIRC network. He has been recognised by the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior as a recipient of both the Alan N. Epstein Research Award (2011) and the Hoebel Prize for Creativity (2023). |
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Members: £10
Non-members: £20
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Please note: IFST is a registered charity with the mission of ‘recognising and empowering food professionals by promoting excellence in science and its application throughout the food chain’. Each year, we are proud to run over 60 events, including webinars and workshops, which engage with thousands of food professionals worldwide from over 50 countries. IFST members attend all webinars free of charge. All non-members who would like to attend our events will be charged a small fee and all attendees will receive a certificate of attendance.