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Prior studies on perceived healthiness of foods have often compared nutrient and hedonic claims, neglecting comparisons to a control condition. The effect of food claims focusing on the food processing level has received considerably less research attention, although food processing has been included in dietary guidelines in Brazil. Thus, the present study aimed to explore the effect of a control and processing claim, additionally to the effects of a nutrient. and hedonic claim, on perceptions related to a food item typically considered "less healthy" (chocolate cake). We further compared these effects between Brazil and Germany, a country where food processing is currently not included in dietary guidelines. A total of 634 lay adults were recruited in a cross-sectional online study and randomised to see the photo of a piece of cake with one of the four different claim conditions and to report their health-related perceptions of the cake. The main analyses included two-way ANCOVAs (4 claims x 2 countries) for each dependent variable controlled for gender, age and level of hunger; followed by post hoc tests. Overall, results revealed that in both countries, the claims highlighting nutrients or processing aspects rendered the perceptions of the cake healthier compared to the control claim. These effects were more pronounced among Brazilian than among German participants. Food-related perceptions mostly did not differ between the hedonic and control claim and did not differ at all between the nutrient and processing claims. In conclusion, it is noteworthy that, even for an inherently considered "less healthy food item" (chocolate cake) nutrient and processing claims increase healthiness perceptions. While our findings may imply that in both countries lay people are highly susceptible to nutrient claims, food processing aspects seem to be similarly relevant., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Understanding the motives influencing food intake is indispensable for effective dietary recommendations aimed at promoting healthy eating in an integrative way. The objective of this study was to evaluate food choice motives across two socioeconomically different cities in Brazil. A cross-sectional study with a convenience sample (n = 473) of adults living in both places was evaluated. Food choice motives were assessed by The Eating Motivation Survey (TEMS) with 15 dimensions, and economic classifications were made according to the Brazilian Economic Classification Criteria (CCEB). Data analysis used both a general linear model (GLM) and a Structural Equation Model (SEM) adjusted for age, ethnicity, income and educational degree. Participants were mainly women (74.6%) with a mean age of 36.6 years. Cities were not invariant (Δχ2 = 314.165, p < 0.001) and two distinct prediction models for food choice motives emerged. Fit indices indicate acceptable model fit for both low (CFI = 0.911; TLI = 0.898; RMSEA = 0.041) and high socioeconomic status groups (CFI = 0.808; TLI = 0.717; RMSEA = 0.081). Although cities differ in the prediction models for food choice motives, we demonstrated that there are two main networks of predictors: one related to social context predictors of food choice motives and another related to hedonic-oriented ones. Particularly, hedonic-oriented motives (i.e., pleasure) were the most relevant predictors to the group of high socioeconomic status followed by social context predictors (traditional eating and sociability). On the other hand, the group of low socioeconomic status had most of its predictors related to social context (i.e., visual appeal, traditional eating, sociability, social norms and social image) and also price, but this last one was the least important among the most important predictors., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The Tripartite Influence Model posits that parents, peers and media influences mediated by internalization and appearance social comparison are predictors of body dissatisfaction, a key risk factor for eating disorders. However, the Tripartite Influence Model has not been tested in Brazil where the people are known to have high levels of body image and appearance concerns. This study aimed to test an adapted Tripartite Influence Model of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behaviors among Brazilian women. A sample of 741 undergraduate students (M age  = 23.55 years, SD = 4.09) completed measures of sociocultural influences, internalization of body ideal, social appearance comparison, body dissatisfaction, muscularity dissatisfaction, disordered eating and body change behaviors. Structural equation modeling analyses indicated that the proposed etiological model for Brazilian women has good fit indexes (χ 2 (2064) = 6793.232; p = 0.0001; χ 2 /gl = 3.29; CFI = 0.82; PCFI = 0.79; RMSEA = 0.056 [IC90% = 0.053-0.057]). Parent and media influences were related with both internalization and social comparison, while peer influence with social comparison. A full mediation model was found, with both internalization and social comparison contributing to body dissatisfaction. Finally, body dissatisfaction was associated with disordered eating behaviors. The findings inform the importance of considering cultural aspects that influence body image and eating behaviors, and highlight the validity of the proposed etiological model for Brazilian women, that can be used for research and clinical purposes., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)