How Food Shape Influences Calorie Content Estimation: The Biasing Estimation of Calories

Abstract

Whether for improving health or keeping in shape, consumers are beginning to pay attention to calorie intake. However, although a growing number of studies have focused on the impact of food attributes on consumers, the sensory correspondence between food shape and calorie estimation is an underresearched topic. This review, therefore, reports on three studies investigating the effect of food shape on calorie content estimation, whereby participants perceived food in a square shape to have a higher calorie content than food in a circular shape. Perceived food weight plays a mediating role in the relationship between food shape and calorie estimation. Moreover, the more mindful participants were about calorie intake, the weaker the mediation effect of perceived weight. Conversely, the mediation effect of perceived weight was stronger for people who did not care about their calorie intake. These findings break novel ground by presenting food shape as a relevant factor for calorie content estimation. It not only pays attention to the information brought by the visual sense of food, but also complements the relevant literature in the field of food marketing, and has implications for marketing management.