ORCID Profile
0000-0002-4764-7472
Current Organisation
RMIT University
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Publisher: Emerald
Date: 31-05-2022
Abstract: Obesity among elderly consumers precipitates undesirable health outcomes. This study aims to investigate the effects of environmental cues on food intake of elderly consumers in an aged-care facility. A longitudinal study conducted over 17 weeks in situ within an aged-care facility with 31 residents investigated how auditory (soothing music), olfactory (floral-scented candle) and visual (infographic on health benefits of the main meal component) cues influenced food intake quantity during a meal, while accounting for portion size effect (PSE). Analysing the cross-sectional results of in idual treatments and rounds did not reveal any consistent patterns in the influence of the three environmental cues. Longitudinal analyses, however, showed that the presence of auditory and olfactory cues significantly increased food intake, but the visual cue did not. Moreover, PSE was strong. Extending research into environmental factors from a commercial to a health-care setting, this study demonstrates how the presence of auditory and olfactory, but not cognitive cues, increased food intake behaviour among elderly consumers. It also shows that a cross-sectional approach to such studies would have yielded inconclusive or even misleading findings. Merely serving more would also lead to higher food intake amount. Environmental factors should be a part of health-care providers’ arsenal to manage obesity. They are practical and relatively inexpensive to implement across different health-care settings. However, the same environmental factors would have opposite desired-effects with normal or underweight residents, and hence, aged-care facilities need to separate the dining experience (or mealtime) of obese and other residents. Quantity served should also be moderated to discourage overeating. While studies into managing obesity, particularly among older adults, have mainly focused on techniques such as pharmacotherapy treatments with drugs, dietary management or even lifestyle change, less attention has been given to the influence of environmental cues. This study, executed in situ within an aged-care facility, provided evidence of the importance of considering the impact of environmental factors on food intake to help reduce obesity.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 11-2020
DOI: 10.1016/J.AUSMJ.2020.08.001
Abstract: Food-related cues can increase the time a person spends in the dining room. Increasing the time a person spends dining can improve their food intake. Studies on the use of music and olfactory cues have produced conflicting results. This study explores whether the portion size effect (PSE), the portion served, influences a person's consumption and can explain the inconsistent results. The study focused on testing this phenomenon with residents in an aged-care home. Malnutrition is often a problem with residents in aged-care facilities. Exposing the residents to various cues (music, olfactory and infographics) over seven weeks with different portions of food served. Results showed that the cues did not significantly impact, but PSE did, casting doubts on studies that did not control for the portion served. Discussions of the academic and managerial implications are also provided.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 08-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.AUSMJ.2018.05.014
Abstract: Cultural ersity is the norm in today's society, and past research has shown that ethnic cues in advertisements are effective in targeting ethnic consumers. This study extends this research stream by examining how ethnic identify impacts ethnic consumers’ perceptions of advertising in ethnic versus mainstream newspapers. The results show that ethnic consumers with higher ethnic identity have more positive responses towards advertisements with ethnic cues, particularly when the advertisements appear in ethnic newspapers. By contrast, for the same advertisements, mainstream media appears less effective in eliciting positive responses. Ethnic consumers with higher ethnic identity are also more likely to purchase and recommend products advertised in ethnic media. These findings offer insights to marketers and businesses who are targeting ethnic consumers. They shed light on when and how to use ethnic cues, particularly in ethnic media, in order to achieve desirable marketing and communication strategies that target ethnic consumers.
No related grants have been discovered for Joyce Hei Tong Lau.