Decision Making in Eating Behavior: Interacting Perspectives from the Individual, Family, and Environment: An Introduction

Abstract

Decision making about food choices and eating practices influence, in large measure, obesity and four of the ten leading causes of death [1]. Although a broad array of intervention strategies have been developed to alter people’s eating practices, eliciting effective change has proven to be difficult and results have frequently been disappointing. The emerging research on the mechanisms and influences involved in the complex process of decision making in eating behaviors shows promise for improving interventions as we add to the scientific understanding of how people make decisions about food choices and eating practices. In order to specify the processes that regulate the food decisions people make, careful consideration must be given to not only the psychological systems that underlie these individual choices but the biological, interpersonal, and environmental systems within which these processes operate. Thus, conversations must begin to occur between investigators who are examining questions regarding food choice and eating practices but are approaching the issue from different perspectives and from different levels of analysis. Moreover, this conversation must facilitate the integration of research and practice. In particular, simultaneous consideration must be given to how research findings in this area can inform the development of effective intervention strategies and to how the development and evaluation of intervention strategies can inform the prevailing theoretical models [2, 3]. To this end, an interdisciplinary team of investigators was brought together to consider and discuss the current state of the science regarding food decision making and to formulate a roadmap that could guide future initiatives in research and practice. On April 14–15, 2008, the National Institutes of Health Division of Nutrition Research, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Heart Lung and Blood, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, and the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research held a multidisciplinary scientific meeting to develop a better understanding of the state of the science of food decision research. The meeting entitled, “Decision Making in Eating Behavior: Interacting Perspectives from the Individual, Family, and Environment,” brought together a multidisciplinary slate of 150 scientists and practitioners to tackle this complex issue. This 2-day meeting was organized into four sessions which covered: (1) Understanding Different Routes to a Decision, (2) Understanding the Interplay between Physiological Responses to Food and A. J. Rothman (*) Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, 75 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA e-mail: rothm001@umn.edu