A project analyzes the relationship between screen use and culinary habits

Raul Garcia Hemonnet

The project is structured around two studies: one led by Ana Reyes, professor in the area of ​​Marketing and Market Research, which will "analyze brain response using biometric equipment and Artificial Intelligence in different food preparation and consumption contexts," as she explains. The other study, in which Ana Reyes' team is also participating and which is led by CIBEROBN, aims to explore eating patterns and screen use during meals.

The SEN and the URJC will carry out a field study with biometric equipment and artificial intelligence to detect the brain response and emotional well-being produced by preparing food at home, consuming pre-cooked food, eating alone, accompanied or using mobile devices.

Emotions through food

As Ana Reyes, Professor of Marketing and Market Research at URJC, points out: “We live increasingly connected, but also increasingly isolated. This pioneering study combines artificial intelligence and biometric technology to analyze how cooking and the habits surrounding it can also help us reconnect emotionally in a hyperconnected world.” With this, Reyes adds, “we want to find out what people feel when we show them contexts with different eating situations: alone or with others. We are going to see what they feel (sadness, joy, anger, contempt) and detect the emotions that culinary moments produce.”

“From the Spanish Society of Neurology, and from the field of neuroscience, we know that the act of cooking and sharing a meal activates brain areas related to reward, empathy, and well-being. Analyzing how these responses change at a neurophysiological level in digital or solitary environments will help us better understand the impact of our current lifestyle on brain health,” explains Dr. Jesús Porta-Etessam, president of the SEN.

Aranjuez, protagonist

The experimental part of the project will be developed in the kitchens of the Aranjuez campus of the URJC, where several studies will be carried out on how we respond to "cooking with or without screens, and eating with or without screens," as explained by the URJC professor.

In parallel, a project led by CIBEROBN will analyze dietary patterns through interviews and surveys. “We will address not only what foods are consumed and how they are prepared, but also the conditions under which these activities take place, including factors such as time, environment, social or family rituals, and how screen use influences all of this,” explains Dr. Fernández Aranda, a researcher at this center, who considers “integrating environmental, social, and cultural factors into the study of eating habits to be highly relevant.” This approach can contribute to a better understanding of human behavior and open new lines of research in brain health, mental health, and lifestyle habits.

The project exemplifies the necessary collaboration between different public and private stakeholders: businesses, scientific societies, universities, and research centers, to achieve results that are relevant to society. IKEA explains that “this partnership will allow us to apply scientific rigor to the study of everyday life in a previously little-explored area: the intersection of food, social experience, and brain response.”

The results will be released in the first quarter of 2026 and are expected to provide an unprecedented snapshot of the habits and emotions of Spaniards around the table.

Ana Reyes, a professor at URJC, has already carried out a similar project with the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, in which she analyzed brain responses to the contemplation of different works of art.

PHOTO: AI-generated image