FOOD STIMULI AND GENDER

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when people make poor food choices because pleasure in the moment outweighs health
benefits in the future (Gintis, 2009). For example, a person might have pleasures and health
on his or her utility curve preferences. The preferences may or may not coincide with healthy
choices. If this person places a higher value on health because of health beliefs or
knowledge, he or she would be able to make a choice that may be incompatible with his or

health

Pleasure

health

Time

Pleasure

Value

Value

her preferences and pleasure in exchange for a long-term reward.

Time
Choice

Figure 1: Weighing Desirability in an Intertemporal Choice Setting

The pleasure experienced when food is consumed is not constant and could be
dependent on time of day and the context in which it is consumed (Schröder, 2003).
Emotions also play a major role in the decision-making process. A somatic-marker
hypothesis proposes that emotions are represented as body states and are needed for
reasoning generating positive or negative somatic states. Rewards generate positive somatic