E. de Vet

Environmental correlates of physical activity and dietary behaviours among young people: a systematic review of reviews.

An extensive body of research exists on environmental influences on weight‐related behaviours in young people. Existing reviews aimed to synthesize this body of work, but generally focused on specific samples, behaviours or environmental influences and integration of findings is lacking. Hereto, we reviewed 18 reviews representing 671 unique studies, aiming to identify what environmental factors do and do not affect physical activity and dietary behaviours in children and adolescents. Eleven reviews focused exclusively on physical activity, six on diet, and one review focused on both physical activity and dietary behaviours with only small overlap in included studies. Physical activity was more consistently related to school and neighbourhood characteristics than to interpersonal and societal environments. In contrast, interpersonal factors played a pronounced role in dietary behaviours; no school, neighbourhood or societal factors were consistently related to dietary behaviours. This review of reviews adds to the literature by providing a comprehensive synthesis of factors related to physical activity and dietary behaviours that could be targeted in interventions. Moreover, by identifying factors that are unrelated to physical activity and dietary behaviours, this review may help to narrow the scope of future studies and environmental interventions.

Health on Impulse : When Low Self-Control Promotes Healthy Food Choices

OBJECTIVE Food choices are often made mindlessly, when individuals are not able or willing to exert self-control. Under low self-control, individuals have difficulties to resist palatable but unhealthy food products. In contrast to previous research aiming to foster healthy choices by promoting high self-control, this study exploits situations of low self-control, by strategically using the tendency under these conditions to rely on heuristics (simple decision rules) as quick guides to action. More specifically, the authors associated healthy food products with the social proof heuristic (i.e., normative cues that convey majority endorsement for those products). METHOD One hundred seventy-seven students (119 men), with an average age of 20.47 years (SD = 2.25) participated in the experiment. This study used a 2 (low vs. high self-control) × 2 (social proof vs. no heuristic) × 2 (trade-off vs. control choice) design, with the latter as within-subjects factor. The dependent variable was the number of healthy food choices in a food-choice task. RESULTS In line with previous studies, people made fewer healthy food choices under low self-control. However, this negative effect of low self-control on food choice was reversed when the healthy option was associated with the social proof heuristic. In that case, people made more healthy choices under conditions of low self-control. CONCLUSION Low self-control may be even more beneficial for healthy food choices than high self-control in the presence of a heuristic. Exploiting situations of low self-control is a new and promising method to promote health on impulse.

Eating by example. Effects of environmental cues on dietary decisions

OBJECTIVE The present studies examined the role of environmental cues in steering peoples dietary decisions in response to food temptations. Based on the notion that people show a tendency to conform to eating standards derived from the eating behavior of others, it was hypothesized that communication of other peoples dietary decisions through environmental cues affect whether and what people eat. METHODS Conformity to environmental cues about food intake was assessed in a local bakery (Study 1, N=144) and a lab setting (Study 2, N=65). Participants were unobtrusively presented with a bowl of individually wrapped chocolates. The presence of empty wrappers was manipulated, to indicate whether others who had been in the same situation had or had not eaten. Conformity to environmental cues about food choice was assessed in Study 3 (N=90). Participants were required to choose between a healthy and an unhealthy snack. Food wrappers indicated whether previous participants had chosen the healthy or the unhealthy snack. RESULTS As expected, participants were more likely to take chocolates in the presence of an environmental cue that others did too. Also, participants were more likely to choose a snack that was consistent with the choice of others. CONCLUSIONS Together, these findings support our main hypothesis that environmental cues steer peoples decisions concerning food intake and food choice. Moreover, the results suggest that only small changes in the environment may support healthy eating behavior.

Obesity, overconsumption and self-regulation failure: the unsung role of eating appropriateness standards

There is a tendency to blame the so-called ‘obesogenic’ environment, characterised by the abundant presence of high caloric, palatable foods, for the failure of self-regulation of eating behaviour and, consequently, the obesity epidemic. In the present article, it is argued that in addition to the omnipresence of food, self-regulation of eating is also compromised by a lack of clear, shared standards that guide eating behaviour. We posit that this social aspect of the toxic food environment is often overlooked and that, without considering the importance of such social eating appropriateness standards as self-regulatory guides, any understanding of successful regulation of eating behaviour will remain incomplete. We hypothesise that the availability of clear, shared eating appropriateness standards will decrease the uncertainty resulting from the current lack of such standards, and will provide effective guidance of eating behaviour, thus calling for a new generation of empirical research examining this novel approach to core components of the obesogenic environment.

Behavioural strategies to control the amount of food selected and consumed

Several factors within the food environment may stimulate overconsumption. The present study aimed to (1) identify behavioural strategies to cope with this environment to control the amount of food consumed, (2) examine the feasibility and usefulness of the strategies, and (3) evaluate the association between the strategies and body mass index (BMI). After the literature was screened for evidence of factors that contribute to the consumption of large amounts of food, 32 behavioural strategies were identified to overcome these influences (study 1). Subjectively reported feasibility and usefulness of the 32 behavioural strategies in weight management were explored using a pretest post-test study (study 2: n = 52). Additionally, two cross-sectional questionnaire studies (study 3a: n = 120 and study 3b: n = 278) were conducted to evaluate the association between the 32 behavioural strategies and BMI. The strategies were subjectively reported as feasible and useful in weight management. Frequent use of strategies discriminated non-overweight from overweight individuals, but did not discriminate overweight from obese individuals. In conclusion, the findings provided preliminary evidence for the acceptability and validity of the strategies. The effectiveness of the strategies for controlling the amount consumed should be further investigated, especially in overweight and obese participants.

It's my party and I eat if I want to. Reasons for unhealthy snacking

Investigating the reasons that people give for unhealthy snacking behavior is important for developing effective health interventions. Little research, however, has identified reasons that apply to a large audience and most studies do not integrate multiple factors, precluding any conclusions regarding their relative importance. The present study explored reasons for unhealthy snacking among a representative community sample. Participants (N = 1544) filled out the newly developed Reasons to Snack inventory assessing an elaborate range of motives at baseline and 1-month follow-up. Exploratory and replication factor analyses identified six categories: opportunity induced eating, coping with negative emotions, enjoying a special occasion, rewarding oneself, social pressure, and gaining energy. The highest mean scores were obtained for enjoying a special occasion and opportunity induced eating. Regression analyses with participant characteristics as independent variables and each category of reasons as dependent variables showed differences for age. For all reasons except to enjoy a special occasion, younger people reported a higher score. Women indicated a higher score than men on coping with negative emotions, enjoying a special occasion and gaining energy. People who diet to a stronger extent reported a higher score for snacking because of social pressure, to reward oneself and to cope with negative emotions, with the latter also being related to a higher BMI. Finally, a higher education was associated with enjoying a special occasion. Future health interventions could allocate more attention to diminishing unhealthy snacking with regard to the six identified categories, specifically focusing on enjoying a special occasion and opportunity induced eating.

Nudging: een opinieverkenning onder gezondheidsprofessionals

SamenvattingHet zingt steeds meer rond onder beleidsmakers en gezondheidsprofessionals: Nudging, een strategie voor gedragsbeïnvloeding waarbij gebruik wordt gemaakt van de impulsieve, automatische processen die mensen gebruiken om keuzes te maken. Een ‘nudge’ kan mensen een duwtje geven in de richting van verstandige, gezonde keuzes. Hoewel deze aanpak veelbelovend lijkt, stuit nudging ook op weerstand. In dit stuk bespreken we een inventarisatie van de meningen van gezondheidsprofessionals over nudging: hoe effectief, legitiem en haalbaar vinden zij nudges voor het bevorderen van gezond gedrag? Als in algemene termen over nudging wordt gesproken is men overwegend positief; specifieke voorbeelden van nudges blijken echter meer discussie op te leveren.