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How Do People Change Their Diet?

An Exploration into Mechanisms of Dietary Change

University of Surrey, UK, k.chapman{at}surrey.ac.uk

Jane Ogden

University of Surrey, UK

The present study explored how people change their diet over the course of their lifespan and what factors facilitate this process. Twenty participants’ narratives were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The participants’ narratives indicated that diet changes can occur either with or without the individual’s active involvement. We labelled these the active path and the passive path. Four themes emerged denoting the mechanisms of change: accumulation of evidence; trigger to action; imposed change; and seamless change. These results indicate that dietary changes may not be as infrequent and difficult as often assumed and highlight an array of new mechanisms which could be explored further to promote behaviour change.

Key Words: behaviour change • diet • eating habits

Journal of Health Psychology, Vol. 14, No. 8, 1229-1242 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1359105309342289


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