Evaluation of health and general perceptions regarding home-prepared and ready-to-eat foods in adults with and without hedonic hunger

Today, individuals are increasingly turning to ready-made foods due to reasons such as increased socialization and workloads. Individuals' choices are influenced by the perceived energy content of foods, their hedonic hunger levels, their general perception of food, and their perception of health. This study aimed to evaluate adults' perceptions of health and general perceptions of home-cooked and ready-to-eat foods based on their hedonic hunger levels. The study included 195 individuals aged 18-65 living in Eskişehir and Ankara provinces who had not previously received dietary counseling from a dietitian (n=109 women, n=86 men). A catalog was created by photographing a total of 20 foods, including 10 home-prepared foods and 10 commercially prepared foods. To measure health and general perceptions, participants were asked to estimate the energy content of the foods and answer 8 questions related to the foods. To measure hedonic hunger, the Power of Food Scale (PFS) was evaluated. Height was measured using a stadiometer, body composition was measured using an INBODY device, and participants' demographic data were collected through face-to-face interviews. According to the findings, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of demographic variables. Hedonic hunger was present in 128 (65.6%) individuals, while 67 (34.4%) individuals did not experience hedonic hunger. Hedonic hunger was present in 75 (68.8%) women and 53 (61.6%) men. There was no statistically significant difference in the age, anthropometric measurements, and body composition of individuals according to their hedonic hunger status. The average age of the study was 26.6. The average PFS score was 2.8. There was no statistically significant difference in individuals' energy content estimates for 20 foods according to their hedonic hunger status. Individuals perceive the energy content of foods to be higher than it actually is. In particular, they perceive the energy content of ready-made foods to be higher than that of home-cooked foods. A statistically significant difference was found between women and men in the hedonic hunger group. Women made estimates closer to the actual energy content than men. In terms of the general and health perceptions of foods, there is a statistically significant difference between home-prepared and ready-to-eat foods in all values except for one value. As a result, the energy content of ready-to-eat foods in particular is estimated to be higher than it should be. It appears that hedonic hunger is influenced more by general perceptions of food and health than by demographic, anthropometric, and body composition characteristics.