Navigation
Fat content modulates rapid detection of food: A visual search study using fast food and Japanese diet
Given the inconsistent findings on people’s detection speeds for food versus non-food items, Sawada et al. (2017) conducted a study assessing normal-weight individuals on their reaction times in detecting high-fat foods (fast food), low-fat foods (Japanese diet), and non-foods (kitchen utensils) among a crowd of cars (distractors). The researchers were interested in investigating the impact of fat content on food detection since fat content has been shown to affect visual attention for food in the past. The present study results backed up the evidence showing shorter reaction times for food targets than for non-food targets. Also, the participants reacted quicker to spot high-fat food items than low-fat foods. These findings suggest that food is more rapidly seen than non-foods and that higher fat content further speeds up the detection process. [NPID: perception, detection speed, reaction times, fat, visual attention, food targets]
Year: 2017
