Seasonal cues to food scarcity and calorie cravings: Winter cues elicit preferences for energy-dense foods

Winter cues signal a scarcity of food. Birds and mammals respond to such environmental cues by consuming more energy. They convert this surplus into body fat that serves as a buffer against impending food shortages. Similarly, humans exhibit higher obesity rates among food-insecure populations. However, to date, it has been unclear whether winter cues qualitatively affect consumers’ food preferences. Results from five studies (N = 865), with one of them preregistered, show that watching videos depicting winter cues elicits thoughts about energy-dense foods and survival. Such cues elicit higher preferences for energy-dense than low-calorie foods, as verified by meta-analytic evidence, with this effect likely differing between women and men. Taken together, our results support an evolutionary account postulating that humans have developed sex-specific responses to perceivable cues of food scarcity. As a result, winter cues induce people to favor products they deem higher in calories. Given the importance of limiting energy-dense food consumption for addressing environmental and public health issues, policymakers and marketers should be aware of this phenomenon when designing public communication campaigns.