Food preferences and why we choose the food we do

Eating is among life’s most enjoyable experiences. But how many times have you sat at a restaurant and had trouble deciding what to order from the menu, arrived home from work and could not decide what to cook for dinner, or navigated the supermarket aisles aimlessly, not knowing what to buy?

Every day we are faced with numerous food choices and those choices may be influenced by a number of factors.

Factors that influence food choices

Flavour. This may sound straightforward. We choose to eat food that tastes good. However, it is not just about the taste. According to Harvard Medical School, taste combines with smell, texture, and temperature to create flavour, a single sensory experience in the brain.

From an evolutionary perspective, we are born with a preference for sweet foods, which signifies energy (calories) for growth and survival, and we reject bitter tastes to signal the presence of toxins and protect us from ingesting them. And yet, what causes one person to like the flavour of one food and another to dislike the same food? Why do people have different food preferences?

Our food preferences start in the womb. Both taste and smell begin to develop before birth and continue after birth. Partly it’s genetic – twin studies show that we are genetically predisposed to prefer certain flavours and partially dependent on what our mother eats. Flavours from the mother’s diet during pregnancy may pass through to her foetus via amniotic fluid and, after birth, through her breast milk, providing us with our early food experience. Indeed, formula-fed infants have a different food experience than breastfed infants, which may affect their preferences when they start eating solids.

Past experience. As we grow up, we accumulate new and different food experiences that shape our food preferences. Often, we choose to eat foods linked to a positive experience or memory engraved in our brain, and we avoid foods that have elicited a negative experience in the past, even if we do not remember it. For instance, a one-time experience of nausea after eating a certain food may create an aversion to this food for years to come.

Social influences. What our family and peers eat greatly influences our food choices. We eat differently in the presence of others than when we are alone, and as we do most of our eating in a social context, we tend to model others. The reason is that other people set a guide or a social norm for us. Children model the eating of both their parents and peers, and adults model other adults.

Familiarity. Many young children are reluctant to eat or avoid eating new foods. It may be an evolutionary mechanism that protects us from the risk of being poisoned by consuming potentially harmful, unfamiliar foods. This behaviour may continue into adulthood in some cases. 

Culture. Cultural and religious practices and traditions may impact our food choices. For example, vegetarianism is widely practised in Buddhism, and pork is avoided in Islam. Special celebrations involve specific food, such as Americans eating turkey for Thanksgiving, while in China, dumplings are served for the Spring Festival.

Mood. Emotional state may influence food choice. In addition to overeating, people tend to reach for high-fat, sweet, sugary comfort foods when feeling low, anxious or stressed.

Health considerations. Many people choose foods that they perceive as being healthy for their general wellbeing, for weight control, for specific health conditions, or because of food allergies or sensitivities.

Ethical concerns. Concerns about animal welfare and the environment influence food choices, such as becoming a vegetarian or vegan.

Cost. An important factor influencing food choice is the cost of food, especially among individuals with low incomes. People may opt for processed or fast foods if they are percieved as less expensive than healthy fruits and vegetables. In general, fresh healthy food in rural areas is more expensive.

Convenience. Food shopping and meal preparation can be time-consuming and require access to food outlets. Your choice of food might be limited if you do not have shops that are close by or if you have time constraints.

Environmental factors. Environmental factors, such as cutlery, plate ware, food packaging and atmosphere, have an effect on how we perceive the flavour of food and consequently affect our food choice.

For example, studies demonstrate that when a dessert is served on a white plate, it is perceived as tasting 10% sweeter and more than 15% more flavourful than when the exact same dessert is served on a black plate.

Similarly, the type of lighting, the colour of the tablecloth, the background music, and the people we share our meal with  may impact our perception of the flavour of our food.

The bottom line

Food choice is a complex process that involves many factors. Understanding why you choose the food you do is not just interesting, it may also help you improve your food choices and follow a healthier diet.  

Related reads:

• How to eat more of the healthy foods that make you feel better
• Is the healthy eating food pyramid still best practice?

References

1. Harvard Health. (2012, January 3). How stress can make us overeat. https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/how-stress-can-make-us-overeat 
2. Higgs, S., & Thomas, J. (2016). Social influences on eating. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 9, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2015.10.005
3. Vabø, M., & Hansen, H. (2014). The Relationship between Food Preferences and Food Choice: A Theoretical Discussion. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 5(7), 145.