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Definition
Eating behavior is a broad term that encompasses food choice and motives, feeding practices, dieting, and eating-related problems such as obesity, eating disorders, and feeding disorders. Within the context of behavioral medicine, eating behavior research focuses on the etiology, prevention, and treatment of obesity and eating disorders, as well as the promotion of healthy eating patterns that help manage and prevent medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and certain cancers.
Description
Eating behavior is complex; humans make hundreds of food decisions each day that are influenced by a variety of personal, social, cultural, environmental, and economic factors. What people eat and how much they eat has a considerable influence on their health. An ecological model that considers the impact of individual factors, social environments, physical environments, and macro-level environments on food choices is useful in...
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References and Readings
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LaCaille, L. (2020). Eating Behavior. In: Gellman, M.D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39903-0_1613
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39903-0_1613
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