Nutritional Intelligence? Hyperpalatable Foods Do Not Dominate Evaluations of Familiar Snacks in a Finnish Sample
- 1Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Abstract
Finnish adults do not simply gravitate toward hyperpalatable snacks: they prefer non-hyperpalatable options, which they perceive as healthier and more satiating. This finding challenges the dominant account of snacking as passive overconsumption driven primarily by hyperpalatability. It also addresses a key discussion in research: whether consumers’ everyday snack choices reflect implicit judgments about foods’ nutritional properties, rather than taste alone. Using the FinnFoodPics database, we found that participants accurately estimated snack energy density for hyperpalatable foods and showed consistent relationships among liking, expected satiation, and perceived healthiness for non-hyperpalatable foods. These results support a form of nutritional intelligence in everyday food choice. Furthermore, they suggest that food policies may be more effective when they consider snack consumption to be more complex than a simple model of hyperpalatable-food-driven intake.
Related
- Lipedema in a male patient: familial evidence and clinical response to nutritional intervention – case report Lipedema em paciente masculino: evidência familiar e resposta clínica à intervenção nutricional – relato de caso
- Adapting familiar object use to altered structure under different viewing conditions
- Reduced organic nitrogen compounds dominate the toxicity of PM 2.5 organics following internal exposure
- POLICITEMIA FAMILIAR TIPO 1 EM ADOLESCENTE: RELATO DE CASO E REVISAO DE LITERATURA
- RELATO DE CASO: UTILIZAÇÃO DA PLASMAFÉRESE COMO TERAPIA COMPLEMENTAR NA LEUCODISTROFIA FAMILIAR
BibTeX
@article{kanyamibwa2026nutritional,
title = {{Nutritional Intelligence? Hyperpalatable Foods Do Not Dominate Evaluations of Familiar Snacks in a Finnish Sample}},
author = {Arsene Kanyamibwa and Manon Chédeville and Sherwin Nedaei Janbesaraei and Annette Horstmann},
journal = {Current Developments in Nutrition},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.cdnut.2026.109553},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2026.109553},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Nutritional Intelligence? Hyperpalatable Foods Do Not Dominate Evaluations of Familiar Snacks in a Finnish Sample
AU - Arsene Kanyamibwa
AU - Manon Chédeville
AU - Sherwin Nedaei Janbesaraei
AU - Annette Horstmann
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/09
JO - Current Developments in Nutrition
DO - 10.1016/j.cdnut.2026.109553
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2026.109553
AB - Finnish adults do not simply gravitate toward hyperpalatable snacks: they prefer non-hyperpalatable options, which they perceive as healthier and more satiating. This finding challenges the dominant account of snacking as passive overconsumption driven primarily by hyperpalatability. It also addresses a key discussion in research: whether consumers’ everyday snack choices reflect implicit judgments about foods’ nutritional properties, rather than taste alone. Using the FinnFoodPics database, we found that participants accurately estimated snack energy density for hyperpalatable foods and showed consistent relationships among liking, expected satiation, and perceived healthiness for non-hyperpalatable foods. These results support a form of nutritional intelligence in everyday food choice. Furthermore, they suggest that food policies may be more effective when they consider snack consumption to be more complex than a simple model of hyperpalatable-food-driven intake.
SN - 2475-2991
ER -