Journal of Student Research 2012

Age, Gender, and Hedonic Hunger

203

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5

Male Female Total

+

*

Heconidc Score

18-28

62+

Total

Age Group

Figure 3 . Means and standard deviation for the Factor 2 (food present ) hedonic eating score for males and females by age. Significantly different from 18-28 year olds (p=0.005); +Significantly different from males (p=0.004). There was no significant interaction between age and gender (p=0.124). Factor Three (Food Tasted) There was no significant effect of age ( p =0.104) or gender ( p =0.965) Figure 3. Means and standard deviation for the Factor 2 (food present ) hedonic eating score for males and females by age. Significantly different from 18-28 year olds ( p =0.005); + Significantly different from males ( p =0.004). There was no significant interaction between age and gender ( p =0.124). with regards to the food tasted factor (data not shown). Average of Combined Age Groups (18-39, 40-61, 62+) To compare the impact of life stage on hedonic eating, the age groups were categorized into three life stages. Figure 4 describes the mean aggregated hedonic score and standard deviation for both males and females when grouping them into three age categories: younger (18-39 years old), middle-aged (40-61 years), and elderly (62+ years). Age had a statistically significant effect on the aggregated score with the 18-39 year olds ( M =2.64, SD =0.81) as well as the 40-61 year olds ( M =2.55, SD =0.79), scoring significantly higher than the 62+ group ( M =2.30, SD =0.76). These data suggest that, during early and mid-adulthood, people have a higher likelihood of hedonic eating. When combining the ages there was no significant interaction between age and gender ( p =0.239).