Table 3 Literature overview of the impact of financial scarcity induced time orientation on dietary behavior

Mellis, Athamneh, Stein, Sze, Epstein & Bickel (2018) [132]

Online experiment. Effects of negative income shock on discounting money and food and on purchasing fast food and water Men and women with obesity (n = 120)

Negative income shock was manipulated through a narrative

Negative income shock elicited greater discounting of money and food and in this condition participants showed a higher intensity of demand (consumption unconstrained by price) for fast food not water

Self-control was not measured Discounting increased in situations of financial scarcity and elicited unhealthy choices

Laran & Salerno (2013) [133]

Experiment 2 = 3 × 2 between subjects design. Effect of harshness and resources provided (1 dollar) on food choice

Students (n = 238)

Environmental harshness was primed by showing participants words associated with harshness

Experiment 3 = 2 × 2 between subjects design. Effects of harshness condition and duration on food choice. Students (n = 144)

Experiment 2. When given resources participants were less likely to choose the food that was perceived to be more filling

Experiment 3. When primed to think of a harsh condition coupled with a short duration, more participants chose food that was perceived to be more filling, than when primed to think of the same condition coupled with a long duration

Self-control was not measured

Experiment 2. When resources were provided participants did not choose high calorie foods in the harsh condition

Experiment 3. Results suggest an effect of time horizon on food choice. When focused on the present, participants made more unhealthy choices in harsh conditions

Stein, Craft, Paluch, Gatchalian, Greenawald, Quattrin, Mastrandrea, Epstein & Bickel (2021) [137]

Experiment. Effects of episodic future thinking and economic scarcity on discounting and demand for fast food by a food purchase task

Men and women at risk for diabetes (n = 78)

Economic scarcity was manipulated through a narrative

Scarcity increased discounting. No effect of scarcity on food demand

Self-control was not measured

Discounting increased in situations of financial scarcity but no effects of discounting on food choices in these situations were found

Sze, Stein, Bickel, Paluch & Epstein (2017) [136]

Online experiment, 2 × 3 factorial design. Effects of episodic future thinking and negative income shock on discounting and demand for fast food by a food purchase task

Men and women (n = 204)

Negative income shock was manipulated through a narrative

Negative income shock elicited greater discounting of money. Participants showed lower demand intensity after reading the scarcity narrative. Episodic future thinking decreased discounting and demand for fast food in negative income shock condition and in absence of the scarcity condition

Self-control was not measured

Discounting increased in situations of financial scarcity but no (expected) effects of discounting on food choices in these situations were found

Kaplan, Madden, Mijanovich & Purcaro (2013) [134]

7 focus groups on the perception of stress and its relationship to health and health behavior

Men and women (n = 56)

Residents from a low-income community in New York

Participants explained the relationship between (financial) stress and unhealthy (eating) behavior (overeating, erratic eating, eating too much high fat foods or forgetting to eat) through self-medication, adaptive behavior, discounting the future, loss of willpower and competing priorities. Participants mentioned that they were not motivated to engage in healthy behavior. Investing in healthy behavior seemed pointless considering their future perspectives

Participants mentioned other priorities and a lack of time to invest in or pay attention to healthy behavior

Participants mentioned that (financial) stress depletes will-power even when aware that unhealthy (eating) behavior impairs health

Discounting was an explanation for unhealthy dietary choices

Behavior also indicative of tunneling or cognitive load

Appelhans, Tangney, French, Crane & Wang (2019) [107]

SHoPPER study: cross-sectional study. Choice task in combination with analysis of food receipts. Relation between discounting and healthfulness of food purchases

Men and women (n = 202)

Poverty-to-income ratio

Steeper discounting was related to lower overall healthy eating index scores (HEI-2015) and a higher energy density. Poverty-to-income ratio did not moderate the association between discounting and food purchases

Self-control was not measured

No effects of financial scarcity condition on the association between discounting on food choices were found

Shuval, Stoklosa, Pachucki, Yaroch, Drope & Harding (2016) [138]

Survey study. Future time perspective and frequency of fast food and full-service restaurant consumption

Men and women (n = 5.871)

Annual income

High future time perspective is related to less frequent fast food intake (not full-service restaurant intake). There was not an interaction effect of income and time preference on frequency of fast food consumption

A significant relationship between time preference and fast food intake was only found in the middle-income group

Self-control was not measured

No interactions effects of time orientation and income on food choices were found

Dumas, Robitaille & Jette (2014) [135]

In-depth interviews. Sociocultural factors underlying dispositions towards health practices

Young and underprivileged women (n = 15)

Financial responsibilities and focus on present needs were drivers of current food acquisition and weight management. The participants did not think of the future, but instead prioritized economic stability, family needs, or current illnesses

A lack of self-control was mentioned by some of the women

A present bias was an explanation for unhealthy dietary choices

Behavior is also indicative of tunneling, but could be instrumental since investing in health was seen as strategy when planning for a better future