Unhealthy diets are widespread and linked to a number of detrimental clinical outcomes. The current preregistered experiment extended expectancy theory into the study of food intake; specifically, we tested whether a fast-food restaurant affects food expectancies, or the emotions one expects to feel while eating highly processed foods (e.g., pizza) and minimally processed foods (e.g., carrots). Participants (N = 200, mean age = 18.79 years) entered a simulated fast-food restaurant or a neutral space, completed questionnaires, and engaged in a bogus taste test. The simulated fast-food restaurant increased positive highly processed food expectancies (d = 0.29). Palatable eating coping motives scores did not moderate the effect; however, this clinically relevant pattern of eating behavior was associated with greater positive highly processed food expectancies. In addition, there was an indirect effect of the fast-food restaurant on ad libitum food intake through positive highly processed food expectancies. Reducing positive highly processed food expectancies may improve diet, which may broadly affect health.

不健康的饮食很普遍，并与许多有害的临床结果有关。目前的预注册实验将期望理论扩展到食物摄入的研究；具体来说，我们测试了一家快餐店是否会影响人们对食物的预期，或者人们在食用高度加工食品（例如比萨饼）和加工程度最低的食品（例如胡萝卜）时预期会感受到的情绪。参与者（N = 200，平均年龄 = 18.79 岁）进入模拟快餐店或中性空间，完成问卷调查，并进行虚假味觉测试。模拟快餐店增加了积极的高度加工食品期望（d= 0.29)。可口的饮食应对动机得分并没有调节效果；然而，这种临床相关的饮食行为模式与更高的高度加工食品期望值相关。此外，快餐店通过积极的高度加工食品预期对自由采食量产生间接影响。减少对高度加工食品的积极预期可能会改善饮食，这可能会广泛影响健康。