What does the study involve?
First lab visit: You will be asked to arrive for each of your test sessions having not eaten for at least 3 hours previously. This first session will last about 95 minutes, during which you will be served your assigned milk-based dessert. You will be asked to taste it, to rate its sweetness, creaminess, thickness, etc, and how pleasant it tastes to you. Then you will be asked to consume all of it – which should take 3-5 minutes. For the next 80 minutes you will be asked various questions every 20 minutes about how you feel, for example how full and hungry you are, whether those feelings are pleasant or not, and about your mood (relaxed, tired, etc). During the breaks between rating your hunger etc, you will be free to relax, and to read or use your phone (though not to make or receive calls).
Second lab visit: You will be asked to arrive the same time the next day to taste and rate a small sample of the dessert again. You will also be asked by the researcher if you are happy for them to measure your height and weight, though this is not mandatory (i.e., you can participate without having your weight and height measured). You will also be asked to complete a short questionnaire about your eating habits. The Researcher will then ask you if you have any comments about the study and your experiences of eating the dessert, after which they will tell you about the purpose of the study and provide you with a written version that information. After reading that ‘debriefing’ information you have a final opportunity to withdraw your data before it is anonymised and no longer traceable to you. These procedures will take about 15 minutes to complete.
Once you have completed the study, we will email you a £20 Amazon voucher to thank you for participating in our research.
Inclusion Criteria
We are recruiting participants who:
- Are willing to attend two test sessions 24 hours apart (a total of no more than 2 hours)
- Are 18 years or older
- Do not have a history of eating disorders
- Are not following a vegan diet
- You do not suffer from food allergy or intolerance. The dessert ingredients will include cow’s milk, sugar, starch (carbohydrate), and a low-calorie sweetener (sucralose).
- Are not on a strict diet to lose weight
- Do not have diabetes
- Are not pregnant or trying to conceive
- Are not currently taking any medication that may influence your appetite
- Are willing to consume a sweet-tasting food containing 460 kcal for women or 575 kcal for men, which will be provided at the Nutrition and Behaviour Unit in the School of Psychological Sciences, University of Bristol
- Are willing to have their height and weight measured (optional).
- Are willing to complete a short questionnaire on eating habits.