Page - 198 - in Critical Issues in Science, Technology and Society Studies - Conference Proceedings of the 17th STS Conference Graz 2018

availability (De Leon 2011). Beyond anecdotes, there are theoretical factors that have been linked to consumption of food. Hunger. Two systems are known to drive human consumption of food. First, food is a function of the homeostatic mechanism, the system which works to serve nutritional needs (Alonso-Alonso et al. 2015; Stroebe, Papies & Aarts 2008). In the second system, homeostatic needs do not primarily drive consumption. As Lowe and Butryn (2007) have stated, an increasing proportion of food consumption by humans seems to be driven, not by a homeostatic need, but by pleasure. They termed that drive hedonic hunger. Happiness and positive emotions. Happiness before consumption has been shown by Appleton (2006) to correlate positively with daily energy intake. Evers et al. (2013) explored the role of positive emotions as trigger for food intake. They reported on three studies which they conducted that “the results pointed towards the essential role of positive emotions in food indulgence” (p. 5). Availability and presence of food. In a study described by Stroebele and De Castro (2004), participants indicated a greater desire to eat after food was exposed to them. Provokingly, fourteen percent (14%) of participants who had indicated no appetite for pizza actually ate a slice by the end of the described experiment, during which pizza was exposed to them. Proliferation of vending machines and convenience stores have been discussed as issues when considering eating behaviours among youth. In some societies, these sources of food are ubiquitous, accounting for multiple billion dollars of youth expenditure annually (Story, Neumark- Sztainer & French 2002). Convenience is a factor of interest in Western society, noted Stroebele and De Castro (2004). Research indicates, they wrote, that “accessibility and availability increase food intake” (p. 825). Food that is made easier to access might be chosen to be consumed. Other people and other people eating. Socio-environmental factors which affect food intake include social interaction. Meals and snacks consumed in social contexts last longer (Gemming et al. 2015). People also eat more when in the presence of other people who are eating, according to Stroebele and De Castro (2004). These latter authors observed that “presence of other people during food consumption can have profound effect on intake” (p. 822). They termed the effect, social facilitation. Social facilitation is powerful enough that it takes place “regardless of time of day [or] place” (p. 822). Physical space. Stimuli associated with physical surroundings have an influence on food consumption. Stroebele and De Castro (2004) recognized the role of properties of location such as odour, temperature, lighting and colour. Other peculiar things about physical setting might influence food choice or intake. Physically-constrained locations (e.g. office desk, car), for instance, are associated with higher likelihood of selection of snacks (Stroebele and De Castro 2004). In our case, we 198