Factors Which Influence Food Choice

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Factors Which Affect Food Choice

Here are 5 different factors that affect what people chose to eat:

Different people will need to eat different amounts of calories depending on their PAL.
- E.g. someone who is very active (walks more than 5km per day) should have a 20% higher daily calorie intake than an inactive person.
Athletes may deliberately tailor their diets to enhance performance.
- E.g. by consuming more high carbohydrate foods to boost endurance.

People may choose to eat lots of highly nutritious foods and not so many foods high in sugar or fat as part of a healthy diet.
If a person is allergic or intolerant to a type of food, they'll avoid eating it.

Price is an important consideration when buying food.
Some people may choose to spend more on food that's better quality.
People can save money on food through supermarket offers, and through comparing foods by price per gram.
Bulk buying foods can save costs.
Generally, buying ingredients to make meals from scratch is cheaper (per portion) than purchasing ready meals.

Not all foods are available year-round.
Some foods that are grown in the UK (like blackberries) are only available during certain months.
Increasingly, people are concerned about the impact food miles have on the environment. To cut international imports, people may choose to purchase seasonal local produce.

People like convenience, and will probably end up eating what's readily available to them rather than going out of their way.
Online shopping is making this less of an issue, as people in rural or isolated areas can order from large supermarkets and don't just have to rely on what's near them.

Here are 5 different factors that affect what people chose to eat:

People can enjoy foods for a variety of reasons, including how food looks, smells, tastes and its texture. Naturally, people often chose to eat foods that they like.
The foods we enjoy most may not always be the healthiest options (e.g. very sugary cookies and cakes or fatty chips).
People may take a while to adjust to bitter flavours, like cocoa and cranberries.

Busy people may not always have enough time to prepare a nutritious meal from scratch. They may rely on unhealthy ready meals for convenience.
Stress and boredom can lead people to comfort eat fatty or sugary foods.
People can pick up bad eating habits, like eating meals close to bedtime, which doesn't give the body enough time to digest food properly.
Peoples' eating patterns vary - some may choose to eat 3 big meals at set meal times, while others may eat smaller meals more frequently.

The higher a person's income, the more likely they are to purchase expensive foods. Higher price tags suggest better quality.
The lower a person's income, the more likely they are to purchase cheaper foods. Often, unhealthy processed foods are cheaper than more nutritious fresh ingredients, like fresh vegetables and meats.
People from lower income groups generally have more unhealthy diets than those from higher incomes groups.
- This is a generalisation and is not always true .

Some people find the prospect of cooking a hard-looking recipe daunting. They may be worried about getting things wrong or not enjoying the process.
Ingredients can be expensive, so people who are not confident cooks may go for a safer, ready-made option.