Blue lighting decreases the amount of food consumed in men, but not in women
Sungeun Cho, Han-Seok Seo and colleagues at the University of Arkansas asked whether the colour of lighting changes how much people eat, as well as how they perceive the food, and whether men and women differ. Participants ate a breakfast of omelettes and mini pancakes under white, yellow or blue lighting. Blue lighting lowered the hedonic impression of the food's appearance but not willingness to eat, and it significantly decreased the amount eaten by men, though not by women, compared with the yellow and white conditions. Flavour intensity and overall impression did not differ among the lights. The authors conclude that lighting colour can modulate meal size, and that blue lighting can decrease the amount men eat without reducing the acceptability of the food.
Sungeun Cho, Han-Seok Seo and colleagues at the University of Arkansas asked whether the colour of lighting changes how much people eat, as well as how they perceive the food, and whether men and women differ. Participants ate a breakfast of omelettes and mini pancakes under white, yellow or blue lighting. Blue lighting lowered the hedonic impression of the food's appearance but not willingness to eat, and it significantly decreased the amount eaten by men, though not by women, compared with the yellow and white conditions. Flavour intensity and overall impression did not differ among the lights. The authors conclude that lighting colour can modulate meal size, and that blue lighting can decrease the amount men eat without reducing the acceptability of the food.
Written from the abstract read 2026-10-24 via PubMed (PMID 25447013).
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Cho, S., Han, A., Taylor, M. H., Huck, A. C., Mishler, A. M., Mattal, K. L., Barker, C. A., & Seo, H.-S. (2015). Blue lighting decreases the amount of food consumed in men, but not in women. Appetite, 85, 111-117. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2014.11.020