BACKGROUND Habit is defined as a process whereby an impulse towards behaviour is automatically initiated upon encountering a setting in which the behaviour has been performed in the past. A central tenet of habit theory is that habit overrides intentional tendencies in directing behaviour, such that as habit strength increases, intention becomes less predictive of behaviour. Yet, evidence of th...

In recent years, the deteriorations of living habits like immobilization or unhealthy diet are becoming serious social problems in many developed countries. Even if we know the importance, it is difficult to change our undesirable habits and to maintain a desirable lifestyle. This study demonstrates a concept called ambient lifestyle feedback systems to be used to motivate people to change thei...

The continual exposure to unhealthy food cues in the environment encourages poor dietary habits, in particular consuming too much fat and sugar, and not enough fruit and vegetables. According to Berridge's (2009) model of food reward, unhealthy eating is a behavioural response to biased attentional processing. The present study used an established attentional bias modification paradigm to disco...

There is an urgent need to address unhealthy dietary patterns at the population level. Poor diet and physical inactivity are key drivers of the obesity pandemic, and they are among the leading causes of preventable death and disability in nearly every country in the world. As countries grapple with the growing obesity prevalence, many innovative policy options to reduce overeating and improve d...

This systematic review analyzed the prevalence of physical inactivity, sedentary behaviors and unhealthy eating habits among Brazilian adolescents. Searches were conducted in five databases (Lilacs, SciELO, Medline, Web of Science, and Google Scholar) and in the references cited in the articles retrieved. The literature search yielded 5,872 potentially relevant titles and a total of 69 studies ...

Can an intervention program that is highly effective in reducing the prevalence of an unhealthy behavior in the general population also reduce the disparity among its subgroups? That depends on what measure of disparity is used. Using simple algebraic models, this study demonstrates that disparity measured in terms of relative difference between two groups tends to increase when the prevalence ...

individuals for leading healthy lifestyles is currently the subject of policy experiments in Europe. The Dutch Council for Public Health, like the British National Health Service and the GermanStatutoryHealth Insurance, is experimentingwith incentives to encourage healthy lifestyles in health insurance. What can be learned from these European policy experiments? First, it is questionable whethe...

Research paper Purpose This article aims to examine young consumers’ perceptions of healthy eating, contexts where healthy or unhealthy eating are practiced, and their evaluation of regulatory measures that discourage the consumption of unhealthy foods in two different markets. Design/methodology/approach A convenient sampled survey was conducted of 386 Danish and Chinese adolescents using a st...

People do not always take action to promote health, engaging instead in unhealthy habits and reporting fatalism about health. One important mechanism underlying these patterns involves identity-based motivation (D. Oyserman, 2007), the process by which content of social identities influences beliefs about in-group goals and strategies. Seven studies show the effect of identity-based motivation ...