Do calorie estimates vary with gender identity and sex assigned at birth?
The First Exploratory Analysis Comparing Gender Identity with Sex Assigned at Birth on Food Calorie Perception Accuracy
Food & Humanity · Preprint
Read the preprint ↗Thinking
Research publications
Explore the questions behind the papers, then open the original source. Peer-reviewed work, preprints, submitted manuscripts, and earlier research are identified separately.
- Research question
- Methods & findings
- Original publication
Peer-reviewed research
The questions behind the publications.
Start with the research question. Each entry also keeps the original published title and links to its journal, DOI, PubMed record, or public full text. Theses and early research projects are listed separately below. Preprints and submitted work are identified separately from peer-reviewed publications.
17peer-reviewed papers
2005–2023
2005–2023
17 of 17 papers
Preprints & submitted work
Research still moving through publication.
These works are listed in the CV, but have not been presented as peer-reviewed publications. The preprint is openly available; the submitted manuscript is identified by its current status.
How are actual-use studies of new tobacco products designed and conducted?
Systematic review of the design and conduct of actual use studies of new tobacco products: a 2014–2024 perspective
Submitted manuscript · 2026
Theses & early research
Earlier work, kept in the record.
Academic thesis work is shown separately from peer-reviewed journal papers. This section also identifies selected early research output by its original format. The record reaches back to 2000.
Astringency and Other Oral Sensations
Astringency and Other Oral Sensations: Biological Sources of Individual Variation and Association with Food and Beverage Behaviour
Brock University
Read the dissertation ↗What changes when Frequenin expression is altered?
Consequences of Altered Frequenin Expression at Arthropod Neuromuscular Junctions
Program in Neuroscience · University of Toronto
How does a neuropeptide modulate crayfish synapses?
The NO-cGMP Pathway in Modulation of Crayfish Neuromuscular Junctions by a Neuropeptide
Brock University
What changes in synaptic development when NSF2 is disrupted?
Ultrastructural Analysis of Drosophila NSF Mutants with Impaired Synaptic Transmission
Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology Meeting · Toronto, Canada
Inside the research
What we tested. What we found.
Three studies, with their methods, findings, and limits. Each figure links to its publication in the archive.
Individual differences · 2008Peer-reviewed
How do PROP responsiveness and thermal taste relate to oral sensation?
Illustration of the study topic; not actual study participantsWhat happened in the study
- 01Classify responsiveness
PROP: super-, medium-, and non-tasters. Thermal taste: tasters and non-tasters.
- 02Present oral stimuli
Sweet, sour, salty, bitter, astringent, metallic, and tongue warming / cooling.
- 03Rate perceived intensity
Compare the reported intensity across PROP and thermal-taste groups.
What the researchers found
PROP responsiveness
Super-tasters rated all oral stimuli more intensely than non-tasters.
Thermal-taste status
Thermal tasters gave higher intensity ratings for most sensations; exceptions were low-concentration metallic flavour and PROP.
Associations between taste phenotype and reported intensity. These results do not establish a universal sensitivity ranking or an individual prediction.
Bajec & Pickering · Physiology & Behavior, 2008View the paper in the research archive →
The practical questionBefore treating variation as noise, test whether differences between people help explain the response.
More about the measures & study limits
PROP is 6-n-propylthiouracil, a bitter-tasting compound used to classify responsiveness. The groups are super-tasters, medium-tasters, and non-tasters, also described as hyper-tasters, tasters, and hypo-tasters. These labels describe PROP response, not a universal ranking of tasting ability.
Thermal tasters perceive taste sensations when the tongue is warmed or cooled. Their intensity ratings were higher for the oral sensations studied, except low-concentration metallic flavour and PROP. These are associations within the study, not a prediction for every individual or product.
Product intervention · 2023Peer-reviewed
Can an enzyme system help manage high pH in red wine?
Illustration of the study topicWhat happened in the study
- 01Start with Tempranillo
High-pH grape must and juice; untreated and aerated controls.
- 02Treat before fermentation
Glucose oxidase + catalase at 0.5 or 1.0 g/L, with continuous aeration for 24 hours.
- 03Assess the resulting wines
Measure chemical properties and evaluate colour, aroma, and in-mouth flavour.
What the researchers found
pH decreased
In juice, 1.0 g/L reduced pH by 0.84 units. At 0.5 g/L, pH fell from 4.6 to 4.0 in must and to 3.8 in juice.
More than a pH change
The enzyme system increased acidity and reduced potential alcohol. Sensory evaluation indicated positive effects on colour, aroma, and in-mouth flavour.
Results apply to the tested Tempranillo materials, enzyme treatments, aeration, and winemaking conditions.
Botezatu, Essary & Bajec · American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, 2023View the paper in the research archive →
The practical questionA technical target and the product people experience need to be evaluated together.
More about the measures & study limits
Glucose oxidase initiates conversion of glucose to gluconic acid; catalase breaks down the hydrogen peroxide produced. The treatment reduced pH and potential alcohol while increasing acidity in the conditions studied.
Chemical and sensory analyses were performed on the finished wines. The findings concern the tested grape material, treatment levels, aeration, and winemaking conditions; they do not apply to every wine or production system.
Measurement & human difference · 2026Preprint · not peer-reviewed
Do calorie estimates tell the same story when grouped by gender identity and sex assigned at birth?
Martha reviewing the study topic; not a participant photographWhat happened in the study
- 01348 young adults
Participants aged 18–23 reported gender identity and sex assigned at birth.
- 02Estimate food calories
Read nine restaurant menu-item descriptions and select estimates in 100-calorie ranges.
- 03Compare the analysis
Examine accuracy by grouping variable, food, and strict or relaxed accuracy definitions.
What the researchers found
Grouping changed the picture
Accuracy estimates differed little by sex assigned at birth; more varied descriptive patterns appeared when grouped by gender identity.
The outcome definition mattered
Patterns also varied with the definition of accuracy, sweet versus savoury foods, and the particular item assessed.
Exploratory preprint, not peer reviewed. Descriptive group patterns do not establish causation or predict an individual’s accuracy.
Castillo, Bajec & Herz · SSRN preprint, 2026View the preprint in the research archive →
The practical questionHow we define a group or an outcome can change what becomes visible in the data.
More about the measures & study limits
348 participants aged 18–23 estimated the calories in nine restaurant menu-item descriptions using 100-calorie increments. The analysis compared sex assigned at birth and gender identity, alongside different definitions of accuracy.
This is exploratory, non-peer-reviewed work in a young-adult sample. Descriptive group differences do not establish that identity caused the differences or support predictions about an individual.
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