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Cited by 404Behavioral Health and InterventionsNutrition, Health and Food BehaviorConsumer Attitudes and Food Labeling

The importance of habits in eating behaviour. An overview and recommendations for future research

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Riet, Jonathan van’t, Sijtsema, Siet J., Dagevos, Hans, De Bruijn, Gert-Jan·2011·Appetite
DOI 10.1016/j.appet.2011.07.010
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Abstract

There is ample evidence to suggest that a significant part of daily eating behaviours consists of habits. In line with this, the concept of habit is increasingly incorporated into studies investigating the behavioural and psychosocial determinants of food choice, yielding evidence that habit is one of the most powerful predictors of eating behaviour. Research shows that habitual behaviour is fundamentally different from non-habitual behaviour: when behaviour is habitual, people require little information to make decisions, intentions are poor predictors of behaviour, and behaviour is triggered by situational cues. These insights have vast implications for research in the food domain that are only just beginning to be addressed. Also, theorizing on habits has important implications for behaviour change interventions, yet few interventions that are based on habit theory have been tested in a food context. The present article provides an overview of habit research and discusses possibilities to increase our knowledge of the role of habits in eating behaviour. It is shown that interventions targeting habitual behaviour can try to (i) change the situation that triggers the habitual behaviour, (ii) promote or inhibit the habitual response and (iii) change relevant contingencies. These insights can act as a starting point for future intervention research.

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Research works printed but not linked: 6

  1. De Bruijn, G. J., & Adriaanse, M. A. (under review). Does habit strength moderate the effectiveness of an implementation intention intervention? An application regarding snack and fruit consumption.
  2. De Bruijn, G. J., Keer, M., Conner, M., & Rhodes, R. E. (under review). Differential effects of habit strength and fruit consumption norm on implicit attitudes towards fruit consumption.
  3. Fawcett, 1995, Listening to the in-store ad song, Advertising Age, 66, 34
  4. Gruber, 2002, Smoking's ‘internalities’, Regulation, 25, 52
  5. Neal, D. T., Wood, W., Lally, P., & Wu, M. (under review-a). Do habits depend on goals? Perceived versus actual role of goals in habit performance.
  6. Neal, D. T., Wood, W., Wu, M., & Kurlander, D. (under review-b). Eating out of habit. When do cues trump preferences?

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Authors
Riet, J. V., Sijtsema, S. J., Dagevos, H., & De Bruijn, G.-J.
Affiliations
Wageningen University & Research (NL)
Corresponding author
Riet, Jonathan van’t
ORCID
Venue
Appetite
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2011-12
Volume
57
Issue
3
Pages
585-596
ISSN
0195-6663 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.appet.2011.07.010
OpenAlex
W2019531193
Semantic Scholar
8226df72a282338ef706f058562631da016eddc9
Cited by
399
References
153
Citations by year
2026: 17 · 2025: 24 · 2024: 29 · 2023: 34 · 2022: 33 · 2021: 53 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 28 · 2017: 30 · 2016: 22 · 2015: 31 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 9
FWCI
2.45
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Appetite (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (publishedVersion)
  • Socio-Environmental Systems Modeling (acceptedVersion)
  • UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (submittedVersion)
  • Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Behavioral Health and Interventions
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Consumer Attitudes and Food Labeling
Keywords
eating behaviour, dietary habits, habit theory, food choice, situational cues, behaviour change interventions, intention, habit formation
MeSH terms
Choice Behavior, Feeding Behavior, Food Preferences, Humans, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Intention, Behavioral Research

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