Trying to lose weight in an 'obesogenic' environment : strategies, temptations and implications

To understand the role of marketing in promoting consumption of high-kilojoule foods requires an understanding of both what people eat, and why they eat. Yet finding out what people eat is a major problem in nutrition research (Stanton, 2006). Standard approaches include asking people to recall what they have eaten over the previous 24 hours, recording a diet history, or weighing and measuring what is consumed. However most people under-report their food consumption, and the very nature of recording what is consumed may change normal eating patterns (Stanton, 2006). Standard methods also provide little insight into why people eat particular foods, or into factors that might assist people to make more appropriate food choices. In this chapter, we report on the environmental triggers to eat high-kilojoule foods experienced by overweight people who are attempting to lose weight. We report on these subjects' exposure to different environmental stimuli over an extended period (four days), and how cues (both external and internal) contribute to the purchase and consumption of high-kilojoule foods. The results provide insight into the challenges experienced by people attempting to lose weight, and offer the potential for better advice as well as evidence to contribute to health policy