Determinants of healthy eating: motivation, abilities and environmental opportunities
Abstract
BACKGROUND: In order to promote healthful nutrition, insight is needed in the behavioural determinants of nutrition behaviours. Most research on behavioural determinants has been restricted to individual-level motivational factors. However, health behaviour is influenced by individual motivation and abilities, as well as environmental opportunities. OBJECTIVE: To provide an overview of motivation, ability and opportunity-related potential determinants of nutrition behaviours and of the evidence for associations of potential environmental determinants with nutrition behaviour. METHOD: A narrative review informed by a series of six systematic reviews including more than 400 original studies and recent original studies on associations of environmental factors with nutrition behaviours. RESULTS: Although the number of studies on potential environmental determinants of nutrition as well as physical activity behaviour has increased steeply over the last decades, these include only few well-designed studies with validated measures. Preliminary evidence from the available systematic reviews indicates that social support and modelling, availability and accessibility of healthy and less healthy foods as well as socio-economic status are important for nutrition behaviours; schools and worksites offer good settings for improving healthful nutrition opportunities. CONCLUSION: Although the evidence to date is inconclusive due to lack of well-designed studies, specific social-cultural, physical and economical environmental factors appear of importance for healthful nutrition.
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Even at the individual level, dietary habits are determined not simply by personal preference but also by familial norms, education, income, nutritional and cooking knowledge and skills, and health status.
“Even at the individual level, dietary habits are determined not simply by personal preference but also by familial norms, education, income, nutritional and cooking knowledge and skills, and health status.387”
From Dietary and Policy Priorities for Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, and Obesity: A Comprehensive Review (2016) · cites this paper as [387]
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“Even at the individual level, dietary habits are determined not simply by personal preference but also by familial norms, education, income, nutritional and cooking knowledge and skills, and health status.(387) Additional relevant factors include attitudes toward food and health, incentives, motivation, and values.”
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- Authors
- Brug, J.
- Affiliations
- Amsterdam Public Health (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Brug, J.
- ORCID
- Brug, J.
- Venue
- Family Practice
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2008-09-30
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- Supplement 1
- Pages
- i50-i55
- ISSN
- 0263-2136 (ISSN-L)
- 1460-2229
- OpenAlex
- W2120496203
- Cited by
- 291
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 27 · 2020: 33 · 2019: 27 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 6.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Family Practice (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Amsterdam UMC (VU Amsterdam) - Institutional Repository (publishedVersion)
- Pure Amsterdam UMC (submittedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Behavioral Health and Interventions
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Nutritional Studies and Diet
- Keywords
- healthy eating, nutrition behaviour, behavioural determinants, motivation, ability, environmental opportunities, social support, social modeling, food availability and accessibility, socioeconomic status, schools, physical activity behavior
- MeSH terms
- Feeding Behavior, Humans, Motivation, Social Environment, Social Support, Socioeconomic Factors, Health Behavior, Exercise, Self Efficacy
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