Food consumption: Changing preferences or stable habits?

Increase in food-related diseases, also in Norway, emphasizes the importance of exploring how food choices are made and which factors influence them. This project aims to explore and assess the importance of habit as a determinant in food consumption, in addition to the traditional preference- and attitude- based models. There is a growing awareness that food choices may not be entirely based on rational evaluations, but may be guided by habits. Whether food consumption is habitual or not, has an impact o n how interventions and communications towards consumers should be designed effectively, both by health authorities and industrial actors who wish to launch new products at the market. There are many challenges left in food consumption research. How and w hy some behaviours turn into habits is one of them. Another challenge is how to change unhealthy eating habits, finding which interventions are most efficient, and that have a long term impact on behaviour. The objective of the proposed research is to de velop the scientific knowledge about food consumption behaviour based on established and resent research about habitual behaviour. We need deeper understanding of the formation of habits and how to create and/or change them. Also the relationship between habit, preferences and attitude-behaviour models is a challenge for further research. We intend to identify which food choices are habitual or rational, and how the habits are formed. More detailed, our goal is to:1) Explore the role of habit in food choi ce, 2) Examine which factors are the most important in forming and changing food consumption habits, 3) Enhance the attitude-behaviour models by introducing a habit strength and implementation intentions as new dimensions into such models. The research t eam aims to achieve these goals through conducting qualitative depth interviews and quantitative research methods (experimental survey) among Norwegian consumers.