The color red reduces snack food and soft drink intake

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Authors

Based on evidence that the color red elicits avoidance motivation across contexts (Mehta & Zhu, 2009), two studies investigated the effect of the color red on snack food and soft drink consumption. In line with our hypothesis, participants drank less from a red labeled cup than from a blue labeled cup (Study 1), and ate less snack food from a red plate than from a blue or white plate (Study 2). The results suggest that red functions as a subtle stop signal that works outside of focused awareness and thereby reduces incidental food and drink intake.

Original languageEnglish
JournalAppetite
Volume58
Issue number2
Pages (from-to)699-702
Number of pages4
ISSN0195-6663
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 04.2012
Externally publishedYes

    Research areas

  • Color, Drink intake, Food intake, Incidental eating, Red, Snacking, Stop cue
  • Business psychology