Poster Presentation Australian and New Zealand Obesity Society Annual Scientific Conference 2023

The psychology of food choice: The sociocultural and socio-cognitive drivers of eating behaviours. A rapid review for Wellbeing SA (#222)

Hannah HA Alexandrou 1 , Kerry KE Ettridge 1 2 , Enola EK Kay 1 , Juliet JB Bociulis 3 , Caroline CM Miller 1 4
  1. Health Policy Centre, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
  2. School of Psychology, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
  3. Prevention and Population Health Directorate, Wellbeing SA, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
  4. University of Adelaide School of Public Health, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Background: Eating a healthy diet is essential for reducing the risk of obesity and many non-communicable diseases. Yet, the majority of Australians are not eating in line with dietary guidelines. Eating behaviours are complex and are influenced by drivers across social, environmental, cultural, and individual domains, including psychosocial, psychological, and cognitive factors. This review was conducted to provide insight into the psychological and sociocultural drivers of eating behaviours, with a particular focus on drivers that result in positive dietary outcomes (e.g., improved eating behaviour, such as increased fruit and vegetable consumption).  

Methods: A rapid ‘review of reviews’ approach employed a systematic search of two databases to identify reviews of sociocultural, socio-cognitive, and individual level drivers of food intake/choice/purchasing (referred to as eating behaviour). Twenty-nine review articles were included.

Findings: Sociocultural drivers of eating behaviour were comprised of interpersonal and situational level influences, including social facilitation, social and cultural norms, availability, access, convenience, and affordability. Socio-cognitive drivers included levels of knowledge, self-perceptions (including self-efficacy, perceived behavioural control, self-regulation), behavioural intentions, motivations, autonomy, independence, and emotions. Other drivers that did not fit under these headings consisted of physiological drivers (e.g., hunger, satiety), taste preferences, habits, health status, physical ability, and psychological states/traits (e.g., pessimism). Many reviews incorporated behavioural and socio-cognitive theories.

Conclusion: This review aids in understanding of eating behaviours and can help identify factors that may be targeted by Heath Promotion agency interventions aimed at improving eating behaviour. Interventions should be multi-faceted and address multiple drivers to change behaviour, including those that were out of scope of this current review (e.g., environmental drivers). Future reviews should focus on identifying the environmental drivers of eating behaviour and evaluating the effectiveness of targeted interventions to improve eating behaviour.