RESULTS Our findings suggest that consumers have a relatively poor underst and ing of a healthy diet .
The literature also demonstrates that there is poor evidence on the health protective effects of single foods or nutrients .
We further show that low SES is the single consistent risk factor for not adhering to a healthy diet .
Our review of the literature on determinants demonstrates that intentions , habits , self-regulatory skills , and the social and physical environment are the most important determinants of a healthy diet , which are in turn amenable to change by intervention strategies with varying levels of effectiveness .
Educational interventions generally show a limited effect on practising a healthy diet whereas interventions targeting habitual behaviour and /or the physical environment seem more promising .
In view of the large number of people who are concerned about their diets and make attempts to change their dietary patterns , we conclude that it is crucial to gain a better underst and ing of both the automatic and environmental influences that are responsible for people not acting upon their good intentions for diet change
OBJECTIVE To discuss healthy diet from a psychological perspective by considering definitions of healthy diet in terms of consumer underst and ing ; the health effects of specific dietary elements in terms of overweight and ( chronic ) illness ; the prevalence of healthy diet ; the psychological and environmental determinants of healthy diet ; and the psychological interventions that have been design ed to promote healthy diet .
The power of habits: unhealthy snacking behaviour is primarily predicted by habit strength.
OBJECTIVE Although increasing evidence shows the importance of habits in explaining health behaviour , many studies still rely solely on predictors that emphasize the role of conscious intentions . The present study was design ed to test the importance of habit strength in explaining  unhealthy snacking behaviour  in a large representative community sample ( N= 1,103 ) . To test our hypothesis that habits are crucial when explaining unhealthy snacking behaviour , their role was compared to the ' Power of Food ' , a related construct that addresses sensitivity to food cues in the environment . Moreover , the relation between Power of Food and unhealthy snacking habits was assessed . DESIGN AND METHODS A prospect i ve design was used to determine the impact of habits in relation to intention , Power of Food and a number of demographic variables . One month after filling out the question naire , including measures of  habit strength and Power of Food , participants reported their unhealthy snacking behaviour by means of a 7-day snack diary . RESULTS Results showed that habit strength was the most important predictor , outperforming all other variables in explaining unhealthy snack intake . CONCLUSIONS The findings demonstrate that snacking habits provide a unique contribution in explaining unhealthy snacking behaviour , stressing the importance of addressing habit strength in further research and interventions concerning unhealthy snacking behaviour
RESULTS Our findings suggest that consumers have a relatively poor underst and ing of a healthy diet .
The literature also demonstrates that there is poor evidence on the health protective effects of single foods or nutrients .
We further show that low SES is the single consistent risk factor for not adhering to a healthy diet .
Our review of the literature on determinants demonstrates that intentions , habits , self-regulatory skills , and the social and physical environment are the most important determinants of a healthy diet , which are in turn amenable to change by intervention strategies with varying levels of effectiveness .
Educational interventions generally show a limited effect on practising a healthy diet whereas interventions targeting habitual behaviour and /or the physical environment seem more promising .
In view of the large number of people who are concerned about their diets and make attempts to change their dietary patterns , we conclude that it is crucial to gain a better underst and ing of both the automatic and environmental influences that are responsible for people not acting upon their good intentions for diet change
OBJECTIVE To discuss healthy diet from a psychological perspective by considering definitions of healthy diet in terms of consumer underst and ing ; the health effects of specific dietary elements in terms of overweight and ( chronic ) illness ; the prevalence of healthy diet ; the psychological and environmental determinants of healthy diet ; and the psychological interventions that have been design ed to promote healthy diet .