Can ‘foodporn’ make healthy food more appealing to teens?

A National Institute of Nutrition study has found that visually appealing ‘foodporn’ images of healthy foods could increase adolescents’ willingness to consume them. Millet porridge and chana salad received stronger responses when attractively presented, highlighting the influence of food imagery.

Hyderabad: Can healthy food presented as ‘foodporn’ make adolescents willing to eat a bowl of millets? Yes, researchers at the Hyderabad-based National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR-NIN) believe that foodporn, the technique of presenting highly stylised and visually mouth-watering photographs or videos of food, usually reserved for pizzas and burgers, if presented for healthier alternatives, can positively influence young children to change their food habits.

In a novel study exploring how digital media shapes youth diets, NIN scientists have found that applying the mouth-watering visual techniques can significantly boost adolescents’ willingness to eat healthy foods.

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The study, titled ‘Foodporn for e-Priming Healthy Food Choices Among Adolescents: An Experimental Study Using Appealing Food Imagery ‘, recently published in the journal BMC Public Health, tackles the widespread perception among teens that healthy food is inherently boring, NIN said in a press release.

“The way healthy food was presented also appeared to influence the setting in which adolescents imagined eating it. While simply plated healthy foods were strongly associated with eating at home, attractively styled healthy options were increasingly linked to restaurants and social settings, like eating out with friends, suggesting that visual presentation may help healthy foods enter some of the social contexts more commonly associated with indulgent foods,” Dr SubbaRao M Gavaravarapu, Scientist G, who led the research team, said.

Researchers pretested 150 food images with 43 adolescents to select a final set of 15, featuring healthy staples presented simply versus in an appealing ‘foodporn’ style alongside indulgent options. Over 15 days, these images were shared on Instagram with 203 teens across India, followed by interviews with 19 participants.

Vibrant colors, smart plating, and glossiness made a tangible impact: attractively styled millet porridge and chana salad generated significantly higher willingness to consume. Ultimately, teens focused overwhelmingly on the imagery rather than accompanying text, highlighting the dominance of visual communication in digital food spaces.

“Our researchers suggest that visually appealing healthy food content could be further explored as a nutrition communication strategy on social media and in other food environments such as school canteens, cafés, and restaurants,” said Dr Bharati Kulkarni, Director of ICMR-NIN.