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One of the central problems in nutrition is the difficulty of getting people to change their dietary behaviours so as to bring about an improvement in health. What is required is a clearer understanding of the motivations of consumers, barriers to changing diets and how we might have an impact upon dietary behaviour. This book brings together theory, research and applications from psychology and behavioural sciences applied to dietary behaviour. The authors are all international leaders in their respective fields and together give an overview of the current understanding of consumer food choice.

Humans have eaten earth, on purpose, for more than 2,300 years. They also crave starch, ice, chalk, and other unorthodox items of food. Some even claim they are addicted and \"go crazy\" without these items, but why? Sifting through extensive historical, ethnographic, and biomedical findings, Sera L. Young creates a portrait of pica, or nonfood cravings, from humans' earliest ingestions to current trends and practices. In engaging detail, she describes the substances most frequently consumed and the many methods (including the Internet) used to obtain them. She reveals how pica is remarkably prevalent (it occurs in nearly every human culture and throughout the animal kingdom), identifies its most avid partakers (pregnant women and young children), and describes the potentially healthful and harmful effects. She evaluates the many hypotheses about the causes of pica, from the fantastical to the scientific, including hunger, nutritional deficiencies, and protective capacities. Never has a book examined pica so thoroughly or accessibly, merging absorbing history with intimate case studies to illuminate an enigmatic behavior deeply entwined with human biology and culture.

This is an edited book that brings together many of the most distinguished researchers and clinicians in the field of food misuse. The papers included are drawn from the conferences on psychological approaches to eating disorders and obesity held at the University of Hertfordshire in 2005 and 2006. It presents current research while focusing on the application of this new knowledge.  It covers both eating disorders and obesity in one volume, thus positioning obesity firmly at one end of the food misuse continuum. Chapters will cover subjects such as psychological and cultural aspects of food use, using CBT for treating eating disorders, and CBT group therapy for obesity.

In the crowded and busy arena of obesity and fat studies, there is a lack of attention to the lived experiences of people, how and why they eat what they do, and how people in cross-cultural settings understand risk, health, and bodies. This volume addresses the lacuna by drawing on ethnographic methods and analytical emic explorations in order to consider the impact of cultural difference, embodiment, and local knowledge on understanding obesity. It is through this reconstruction of how obesity and fatness are studied and understood that a new discussion will be introduced and a new set of analytical explorations about obesity research and the effectiveness of obesity interventions will be established.

Few studies have compared atypical sensory characteristics and food selectivity between children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We compared oral sensory processing between children with (n = 53) and without ASD (n = 58), ages 3–11 years. We also examined the relationships between atypical oral sensory processing, food selectivity, and fruit/vegetable consumption in children with ASD. We found that more children with ASD presented with atypical sensory processing than children without ASD. Among children with ASD, those with atypical oral sensory sensitivity refused more foods and ate fewer vegetables than those with typical oral sensory sensitivity. The findings suggest that efforts to address food selectivity in children with ASD may be enhanced by including strategies that address oral sensory processing.

Food selectivity is a common problem in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and has an adverse impact on nutrient adequacy and family mealtimes. Despite recent research in this area, few studies have addressed whether food selectivity present in children with ASD persists into adolescence. In this study, we assessed food selectivity in 18 children with ASD at two time points (mean age = 6.8 and 13.2 years), and examined changes in food selectivity. While food refusal improved overall, we did not observe an increase in food repertoire (number of unique foods eaten). These findings support the need for interventions early in childhood to increase variety and promote healthy eating among children with ASD.

Mealtime behavior problems and family stress occur frequently among families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, it is unknown whether food selectivity is an associated factor. The associations of high food selectivity with mealtime behavior problems, spousal stress, and influence on family members were assessed among 53 children with ASD and 58 typically developing (TD) children ages 3–11 years. Compared to TD children, children with ASD were more likely to have high food selectivity, and their parents reported more mealtime behavior problems, higher spousal stress, and influence on what other family members ate. High food selectivity was associated with mealtime behavior problems in both groups. Interventions to reduce food selectivity may lead to decreases in mealtime behavior problems.