SMILING AT ULTRA-PROCESSED FOOD PICTURES IS ASSOCIATED WITH NUTRITIONAL KNOWLEDGE

Ultra-processed foods have been associated with the development of non-communicable diseases and have strong characteristics that promote their consumption since they activate neural reward systems. The presence of food additives and ingredients such as sugar and sodium, in addition to being associated with aggressive advertising, are characteristics that prompt high activation of the appetitive motivational system. Educating the population about the low nutritional value of ultra-processed foods is important to promote conscious food choices. Since emotions are good predictors of food choices and eating behaviors, elucidating the psychophysiological responses associated with ultra-processed foods is relevant. The evaluation of facial expressions through facial electromyography is a method of directly measuring an individual`s emotional response to a stimulus. The activation of the zygomaticus major muscle, responsible for the smile expression, is described to reflect higher levels of pleasantness that could elucidate positive emotional responses triggered by ultra-processed foods. In addition, assessing how individual variables, such as prior nutritional knowledge, can modulate emotional responses to food is of great interest.