Introduction: Currently, 1 in 7 children are classified as obese, which represents an obesity rate two times higher than that of the last 25 years. Part of the solution to address the positive energy balance underlying weight gain is to target the specific eating behaviours and factors that lead to food intake. One widely used tool to measure eating behaviour is the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ). Objective: The primary objective of this study was to validate scores of the 21-item Child version of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R21 C), by examining validity evidence and reliability of TFEQ-R21 C responses in a sample of Canadian children and adolescents. The secondary aim was to examine the associations between the TFEQ-R21 C factors and body mass index (BMI) z-scores and food/taste preferences. Methods: The participants consisted of a sample of 158 children, 63 boys (mean age: 11.5 ± 1.6 years) and 95 girls (mean age: 11.9 ± 1.9 years), recruited from English schools in the Ottawa area. To assess eating behaviour, participants filled out the TFEQ-R21 C, the Power of Food Scale, and the Leeds Food Preference Questionnaire. Height and weight measurements were taken using a stadiometer and a digital scale. An exploratory factor analysis with oblique rotation and an item analysis were conducted to determine the factor structure and validity of the questionnaire. A median split on Cognitive Restraint (CR), Internal Uncontrolled Eating (UE 1), External Uncontrolled Eating (UE 2), and Emotional Eating (EE) was used to dichotomize factor-based scores into high and low categories for each factor, to allow for group comparisons. Bivariate correlations explored relationships between weight, BMI and BMI z-score, and food and taste preference, by sex and age group. To determine if BMI, BMI z-scores, and food/taste preferences were associated with factor scores of the TFEQ-R21 C, two-way ANOVAs were conducted. Results: The exploratory factor analysis replicated the Emotional Eating (EE) and Cognitive Restraint (CR) scales of the original TFEQ-R21, whereas the global factor of Uncontrolled Eating (UE) produced two subscales: Internal Uncontrolled Eating (UE 1) and External Uncontrolled Eating (UE 2). Item 17 did not load onto any of the factors and was subsequently removed. The four-factor model, with item 17 removed (FFEQ-R21 C: 20-item Child version Four-Factor Eating Questionnaire), accounted for 41.2% of the common variance in the data and showed good internal consistency (α= 0.81). The factors of UE 1 (r= 0.27, p<0.001), UE 2 (r= 0.36, p<0.0001), and CR (r= 0.20, p= 0.04) correlated significantly with EE. Younger children reported higher UE 1 scores [F(1,143)= 3.99, p=0.048, f2= 0.028] and CR scores [F(1,143)= 3.99, p= 0.001, f2= 0.089]. Boys who reported a high UE 1 scores had a significantly higher weight [F(1,58)= 6.44, p=0.014, f2= 0.117 ] and BMI z-scores [F(1,58)= 4.45, p=0.039, f2=0.083], compared to those who reported low UE 1 scores. Children with overweight or obesity [F(1,143)= 2.75, p<0.001. f2= 0.035] reported higher EE scores, compared to children of normal weight. Children with high UE 1 scores reported greater preference for high protein and fat foods, and high fat savoury (HFSA) and high fat sweet (HFSW) foods, compared to those with low UE 1 scores. Higher preference for high protein, fat, and carbohydrate foods, and HFSA, HFSW, and low fat savoury foods (LFSA) foods was found in children with high UE 2 scores, compared to those with low UR 2 scores. Children and adolescents with low CR scores reported greater preference for high protein, carbohydrate, and fat foods, compared to those who reported high CR scores. Discussion: This study showed adequate reliability and validity evidence of the TFEQ-R21 C scores, and that the questionnaire is best represented by a 20-item four-factor model in our sample. The FFEQ-R21 C was able to identify relevant eating behaviour traits associated with higher BMI z-scores and food preferences in both sexes and age groups, which were mainly in accordance with previous findings in children and adolescents. These results support the utility of the questionnaire for the assessment and identification of problematic eating behaviour and food preferences in the Canadian pediatric population. Younger children reported higher influence of the psychological constructs of eating behaviour (CR, UE 1, UE 2, and EE), compared to older children. This study provides preliminary evidence that FFEQ-R20 is a reliable and valid self-report tool to measure eating behaviour in children and adolescents to characterize those at higher risk for excess weight. However, further research is needed to examine the validity of the questionnaire in larger samples and in other geographical locations across Canada, as well as the inclusion of extraneous variables such as parental eating behaviour, socioeconomic status, and physical activity levels.

The author of the thesis focuses on an analysis of cola-based soft drink market in the Czech Republic, which is by its internal structure different from the standard European market of such a kind.The main goal of the thesis is to describe the cola-based soft drink market in the Czech Republic in detail, identify profiles of cola-based soft drink consumers for the leading brands and evaluate consumer perception of these brands. The aim of the thesis is also to compare subconscious and real taste preferences and to identifiy taste recognizability of tested cola-based soft drinks with a focus on Kofola brand soft drink. To fulfill the goals of the thesis the author works with following datasources: a study of a market research company ACNielsen, the data analysis of research project MML-TGI, results of a consumer survey and of a blind taste test.

Yes / Objective: To examine score validity and reliability of a Child version of the 21-item Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (CTFEQ-R21) in a sample of Canadian children and adolescents and its relationship with body mass index (BMI) z-scores and food/taste preferences. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: School-based. Subjects: 158 children, 63 boys (11.5±1.6 years) and 95 girls (11.9±1.9 years). Results: The exploratory factor analysis revealed that the CTFEQ-R21 was best represented by four factors with item 17 removed (CFFEQ-R20) representing Cognitive Restraint (CR), Cognitive Uncontrolled Eating (UE 1), External Uncontrolled Eating (UE 2), and Emotional Eating (EE) and accounted for 41.2% of the total common variance, with good scale reliability. ANOVAs revealed that younger children reported higher UE 1 scores and CR scores compared to older children, and boys who reported high UE 1 scores had significantly higher BMI Z-scores. Children with high UE 1 scores reported a greater preference for high protein and fat foods, and high-fat savoury (HFSA) and high-fat sweet (HFSW) foods. Higher preference for high protein, fat, and carbohydrate foods, and HFSA, HFSW, and low-fat savoury foods was found in children with high UE 2 scores. Conclusions: This study suggests that the CFFEQ-R20 can be used to measure eating behaviour traits and associations with BMI z-scores and food/taste preferences in Canadian children and adolescents. Future research is needed to examine the validity of the questionnaire in larger samples and in other geographical locations, as well as the inclusion of extraneous variables such as parental eating or socio-economic status.

The primary objective of this dissertation is to determine Hispanic consumers’ preferences and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for grass-fed beef. Two hundred and thirty-one Hispanic consumers in four experiment sites in Virginia (Galax, Roanoke, Richmond, and Blacksburg) participated in an experimental economics laboratory procedure. Taste tests and visual evaluations were conducted to understand Hispanic consumers’ sensory preferences for grass-fed beef in comparison to conventional grain-fed beef. A contingent valuation method, Multiple Price Lists (MPL) was used to measure Hispanic consumers’ WTP for grass-fed beef. In the study, MPL was put into a non-hypothetical environment due to real products, real money, and actual transactions involved. A bivariate Probit model was estimated to determine Hispanic consumers’ visual and taste preferences for grass-fed beef and to explore the relationship between their expected and experienced quality of grass-fed beef. A two-step decision process examined Hispanic consumers’ WTP and investigated the factors influencing their valuations on grass-fed beef. Approximately 50% of Hispanic consumers sampled preferred grass-fed to conventional grain-fed beef steak and the vast majority of grass-fed preferring consumers were willing to pay a price premium for it. Hispanic consumers were able to distinguish the appearance and taste between grass-fed and conventional grain-fed beef steaks. A positive correlation between visual and taste preferences for grass-fed beef was captured. / Ph. D.

L’homéostasie buccale conditionne fortement les perceptions gustatives ; elle repose sur un épithélium buccal sain et le bon fonctionnement des glandes salivaires, qui sont finement régulés par hormones sexuelles. Le but de cette thèse était de savoir si une exposition orale en bisphénol A, un migrant d’emballage alimentaire et de composites dentaires, et une alimentation riche en phyto-œstrogènes (soja) pouvaient modifier l’homéostasie buccale. Deux expérimentations ont été conduites : une étude dose-effet du BPA (5µg à 12,5 mg/kj/j) chez le rat adulte, et une étude d’interaction d’un régime riche en soja sur les effets du BPA. Sur la base de tests gustatifs et d’une approche histologique et moléculaire (qPCR-TR), la première étude identifie pour la première fois une action du BPA sur la sècheresse buccale. Nous avons constaté que le BPA était responsable d’une moindre consommation d’eau (p<0.01), d’une préférence augmenté au sel (p<0.05) et diminué au sucre (p<0.05), et d’une altération des sécrétions salivaires. Une réversibilité partielle des effets à l’arrêt du traitement. A contrario un régime riche en phyto-œstrogène augmente la prise d’eau (p<10-6) et diminue la préférence au sel (p<0.05) par rapport à un régime semi-synthétique, et peut s’opposer aux effets du BPA. Ces études montrent que BPA et phyto-œstrogènes exercent des effets œstrogéniques agonistes ou antagonistes en fonction de la cible biologique considérée, et qu’un régime à base de soja peut gommer la plupart des effets observés / Oral homeostasis strongly influences taste perceptions. It depends on a healthy oral epithelium and salivary gland secretions, which are both regulated by sex hormones. The aim of this thesis was to identify the effect of an oral exposure to Bisphenol A, a food packaging and dental sealer component, and of a soy-diet containing phytoestrogens on oral homeostasisTwo experiments were conducted in adult rats: a dose-response study of BPA (5μg 12.5 mg / kj / day), and a study about the impact of a soy-diet on the BPA disrupting effects. By using gustation choice tests, and histological and qPCR-TR molecular approach, we identify for the first time an action of BPA on dry mouth. We found that BPA reduced water consumption (p <0.01), increased salt intake (p <0.05) and decreased sugar intake (p <0.05), and also modulated salivary secretions. These effects were partially reversed by stopping oral exposure. In contrast, the soy-diet increased water intake (p <10-6) and decreased in salt preference (p <0.05) by comparing to the semi-synthetic diet did, and may correct the effects of BPA.These studies show that BPA and phytoestrogens exert agonist or antagonist estrogenic effects depending on the biological target, and that a soy-based diet can erase most of the observed BPA effects