Quantitative Analysis of Food Consumption Observation Affecting Unhealthy Food Desire

Regular exercise and a balanced diet are essential for weight management and obesity prevention. However, the temptation of indulgent foods may make self-regulation difficult. This study explores whether the influencers on social media mukbang indulgent foods can satisfy their audiences’ cravings and influence healthier dietary choices. This paper examines the effect of influencer-induced indulgent food consumption on audience preferences for unhealthy versus healthy foods, with consumption states as a potential catalyst. In the survey 1, participants who watched indulgent food live streaming reported increased desire for unhealthy foods and decreased desire for healthy ones. The study 2 shows that observing indulgent consumption activates participants' reward-seeking goals, therefore decreases healthy food desire while increases unhealthy food desire. The study 3 reveals that watching influencers’ promotion on indulgent foods completely does not lessen the negative impact on unhealthy food desire. Overall, these findings suggest that influencer indulgence does not benefit diet adherence but rather promotes unhealthy food desires through enhanced reward-seeking goals, highlighting the implications of influencer behavior on audience eating habits.