In policy making, there is a recurring demand that consumers be better educated at a young age, and more thoroughly informed about nutrition. There are frequent calls for a “transformation in the minds of consumers” – away from cheap, fatty, and sugary foods and toward nutritionally sound, healthy diets. Many political and social actors have attempted to change consumer knowledge, attitudes, and preferences in order to encourage healthier lives. Yet despite the efforts that have been made, policy measures aimed...

  Eating behavior and body weight are determined by multiple factors including genetics and environment, which interact in different ways defining our food choice and their long-term consequences. Therefore a profound knowledge of factors influencing food choice becomes more and more relevant as it can serve as a guideline to develop treatment strategies to stop the obesity epidemic in western societies.

As the world’s eating habits are changing, so are our waistlines. A hot topic in the field of obesity is whether frequent snacking can contribute to the obesity epidemic. It has been suggested that the effect of snacking on body weight is most likely down to the size and type of snack. Many nutritionists urge people to snack; to eat little and often throughout the day to keep energy levels up. However, many people forget the nutritionist’s definition of...

Our bodies and behaviours are products of our genes and our environment (with a bit of randomness thrown in). Our genes are relatively fixed, but the body they build is not, and nor is the environment. This changing environment can change our bodies (obesity is a good example), and penetrate further, even to change gene expression. This is a life-long process but there is a great interest in how early-life experiences, like stress or exposure to high-energy foods in childhood...