TEP 10

Funding institution:

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation)

Duration:

01/2017 - 12/2020

Participating working groups:

• Dr. Gudrun Sproesser, University of Konstanz, Germany (PI)
• Prof. Dr. Britta Renner, University of Konstanz, Germany
• Prof. Dr. Paul Rozin, University of Pennsylvania, USA
• Prof. Dr. Harald Schupp, University of Konstanz, Germany
• Dr. Matthew Ruby, La Trobe University, Australien
• Dr. Naomi Arbit, BetterUp Inc., San Francisco, USA

Cooperation partners:

• Prof. Dr. Charity Sylvia Akotia, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
• Prof. Dr. Marle Alvarenga, University of Sao Paolo, Sao Paolo, Brazil
• Prof. Dr. Rachana Bhangaokar, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, India
• Prof. Dr. Sumio Imada, Hiroshima-Shudo University, Hiroshima, Japan
• Prof. Dr. Usha Menon, Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA
• Dr. Claude Fischler, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris, France
• Dr. Gulbanu Kaptan, Centre for Decision Research, Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds, UK
• Dr. Martha Kaufer, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubiran, Tlalpan, Mexico
• Prof. Dr. Isato Furumitsu, Hiroshima-Shudo University, Hiroshima, Japan
• Dr. Xiaomeng Hu, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

Project description:

Our modern eating habits in the western world are now characterised by a high consumption of highly processed foods or eating out. In contrast, there are countries where more traditional eating habits still exist, such as the consumption of local foods and family meals. In all countries of the world, however, there is a shift towards modern eating habits. There is no doubt that the modern diet has brought benefits, but in its extreme form it has led to an increase in chronic diseases, whereas the traditional diet seems to protect against them. Surprisingly, little research has addressed the question of why people eat traditional or modern diets, and this research is hampered by different conceptualisations of traditional and modern diets. Furthermore, most studies have focussed only on individual facets of the traditional diet, individual influencing factors and individual (Western) countries. As a result, research on the question of why people eat in a traditional or modern way is fragmented, study results are difficult to compare and conclusions can only be drawn with caution.

TEP 10 addressed this research gap by carrying out a comprehensive systematisation and evaluation of traditional and modern eating behaviour. In addition, a comprehensive understanding of the psychological factors underlying these eating patterns in countries that differ in their degree of dietary change was to be created from a cross-national perspective. Specifically, the project investigated which eating motives are associated with traditional and modern eating patterns. The comprehensive approach investigated why countries differ in terms of traditional eating behaviour, but also why individuals differ.

Ten countries were selected for the project: Ghana, India, China, Turkey, Mexico, Japan, Brazil, France, Germany and the USA. To answer the research questions, literature research, telephone interviews with food culture experts and online surveys with representative samples and nutrition experts were conducted in all ten countries. In addition, personal interviews were conducted in the six middle-income countries. Thus, TEP 10 aimed to compile the different conceptualisations of traditional and modern eating in order to facilitate future research on this behaviour and its causes and consequences. By taking an international approach, the project aims to provide a unique and comprehensive insight into the psychological factors underlying traditional and modern eating behaviour across a wide range of individuals and countries.

Key publications produced as part of TEP10 (selection):

• Arbit, N., Ruby, M., Sproesser, G., Renner, B., Schupp, H., & Rozin, P. (2017). Spheres of moral concern, moral engagement, and food choice in the USA and Germany. Food Quality and Preference, 62, 38-45. doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2017.06.018
• Rempe, H., Sproesser, G., Gingrich, A., Spiegel, A., Skurk, T., Brandl, B., Hauner, H., Renner, B., Volkert, D., Sieber, C. C., Freiberger, E., & Kiesswetter, E. (2019). Measuring eating motives in older adults with and without functional impairments with The Eating Motivation Survey (TEMS). Appetite. Advanced online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2019.01.024.
• Rempe, H. M., Sproesser, G., Hannink, A., Skurk, T., Brandl,  B., Hauner, H., Renner, B., Volkert , D., Sieber, C. C., Freiberger, E., Kiesswetter, E. (2020). The relationship between healthy eating motivation and protein intake in community-dwelling older adults with varying Functional Status. Nutrients, 12(662), 1-18. doi: 10.3390/nu12030662
• Sproesser, G., Arens-Azevedo, U., & Renner, B. (2023). The “healthy = sustainable” heuristic: Do meal or individual characteristics affect the association between perceived sustainability and healthiness of meals? PLOS Sustainability and Transformation, 2(11), e0000086. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pstr.0000086
• Sproesser, G., Ruby, M. B., Arbit, N., Akotia, C. S., dos Santos Alvarenga, M., Bhangaokar, R., Furumitsu, I., Hu, X., Imada, S., Kaptan, G., Kaufer-Horwitz, M., Menon, U., Fischler, C., Rozin, P., Schupp, H.T. & Renner, B. (2022). Similar or different? Comparing food cultures with regard to traditional and modern eating across ten countries. Food Research International, 157(111106). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2022.111106
• Sproesser, G., Moraes, J. M. M., Renner, B., & Alvarenga, M. S. (2019). The Eating Motivation Survey in Brazil : Results from a sample of the general adult population. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1–9. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02334
• Sproesser, G., Imada, S., Furumitsu, I., Rozin, P., Ruby, M., Arbit, N., Fischler, C., Schupp, H.T., & Renner, B. (2018). What constitutes traditional and modern eating? The case of Japan. Nutrients, 10, 118. doi:10.3390/nu10020118
• Sproesser, G., Ruby, M. B., Arbit, N., Akotia, C. S., Alvarenga, M. d. S., Bhangaokar, R., Renner, B. (2019). Understanding traditional and modern eating: The TEP10 framework. BMC Public Health, 19, 1606. doi: 10.1186/s12889-019-7844-4
• Sproesser G., Ruby M.B., Arbit N., Rozin P., Schupp H. T., Renner B. (2018). The Eating Motivation Survey: Results from the USA, India and Germany. Public Health Nutrition, 21, 515-525. doi:10.1017/S1368980017002798
• Sproesser, G., Klusmann, V., Ruby, M. B., Arbit, N., Rozin, P., Schupp, H. T., & Renner, B. (2017). The positive eating scale: Relationship with objective health parameters and validity in Germany, the USA, and India. Psychology & Health, 33, 313-339. doi: 10.1080/08870446.2017.1336239
• Sproesser, G., Klusmann, V., Schupp, H., & Renner, B. (2017). Self-other differences in perceiving why people eat what they eat. Frontiers in Psychology. 8, 1- 10. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00209
• Wahl, D. R., Villinger, K., Blumenschein, M., König, L. M., Ziesemer, K., Sproesser, G., Schupp, H. T., & Renner, B. (2020). Why we eat what we eat: Assessing dispositional and in-the-moment eating motives by using Ecological Momentary Assessment. JMIR mHealth & uHealth, 8(1), 1-14. doi: 10.2196/13191