Evolutionary explanations for food preferences

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Preferences for sweetness
Food preferences are linked to sweet task as it is a reliable signal of high energy food. Fructose is the most favoured by babies because it is the sweetest, it is a fast acting sugar providing quick energy, is present in ripe fruit
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Preferences for salt
Salts are essential for the functioning of cells, the preference appears in humans from the age of 4 months.
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Preferences for fat
High calorie foods such as fat were not readily available for our evolutionary ancestors. You need high calorie food to provide energy for survival. Fat has twice as many calories as protein or carbohydrates, most efficient way of energy consumption
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Steiner- Preference for sweetness
Placed sugar on the tongues of newborn humans and observed positive facial expressions, newborns can even distinguish against the sugars depending on sweetness
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Harris- Preference for salt
Found that infants between the age og 16 and 25 weeks who had been breastfed preferred salted rather than unsalted cereal, breastmilk is low in salt so they hadn't learnt a salt preference, it is innate appearing at a few months old
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Neophobia deffinition
Like most omnivores, humans have an innate unwillingness to eat new or unfamiliar foods, food neophobia appears to be most pronounced in childhood between the ages of two to six years.
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Birch- Neophobia
When children begin to explore their environments and may encounter foods independently of their parents guidance as to what is safe to eat, because untried foods are potentially damaging to health we avoid it. Diminishes when we learn those new food
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Seligman- Biological preparedness
Biological preparedness says we acquire certain taste aversions or fears more quickly than others, these are generally objects or situations that pose the largest threats to our ancestors survival. We're genetically predisposed to taste aversions
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Garcia and Koelling- Taste aversion
Conditioned rats with a taste aversion to sweet water after pairing it with poison, less successful when with electric shocks. Aversion to light was easily conditioned in rats when with electric shocks but not with poison.
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Steiner- Taste aversion
Evidence of negative facial expressions in response to bitter tastes. This occured before any learning of taste preference had taken place, strongly suggesting an innate mechanism at work
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Research support- Torres et al
Reviewed studies and concluded that humans have a tendancy to fatty food during stress. Suggests that a preference for fat would have provided energy to fuel a effective fight or flight response. This is adaptive and evolutionary
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Alcock- alternative evolutionary explanation for food preference
Evolved as an adaptive response to gut microbes. Describe gut microbes as influencing their hosts behaviour to increase their own survival chances via a number of routes
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Caroline de Weerth et al- Colic and gut microbacteria
Found a link between infant colic and changes in gut microbia. Pain of colic causes crying, thus over feeding by parents. More nutrients developed, this benefits the microbes, creation of colic is adaptive food preferences
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Drewnowski- Individual differences in taste aversion
People differ in ability to detect bitter chemical called PROP. Some cannot taste it, some aer over sensitive, thus avoid food with them in. Difficult to explain evolutionary as bitter taste according to theory was important for our ancestors
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Role of bitter properties in taste aversion
Unless our inability to taste bitterness was linked with another trait that offered survival. Bitter compounds in green tea may be anti-carcinogenic. Those who couldnt detect bitterness could eat these food thus prevent cancer to an extent
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Neophobia is adaptive
An adaptation beneficial to our ancestors survival chances, now its frequently maladaptive, most food we consume is bought from retailers so its safer and more plentiful than it has been before. Neophobia just restricts variance in child diets
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Cashdan- Role of culture in eating preferences
Culture determines which foods are accepted and rejeced, also plays a role in ethnic identity. Example of Jewish Kosher families, reject non Kohser foods, food preferences are harder to change than other elements of culture such as style of dress
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Garcia and Koelling- Taste aversion conclusion
A taste aversion is much more likely to be the outcome of eating poisoned food than it is of encountering a light or clicking sound, it is an adaptive response that aids survival
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Preferences for salt

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Salts are essential for the functioning of cells, the preference appears in humans from the age of 4 months.

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Preferences for fat

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Steiner- Preference for sweetness

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Harris- Preference for salt

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