Project description
Improving nutritional choices to combat obesity
Obesity rates in developed countries are reaching alarming levels, and the associated health risks threaten equity and markets. Governments are implementing policies to combat diet related diseases but often fail to achieve their targets. Research has shown that individuals who have experienced deprivation are more likely to choose less healthy options when shopping for food. Funded by the European Research Council, the FOODHABITS project seeks to improve current policies by conducting research that provides empirical evidence on the development of food habits, self-control, and consistency in individual food choices when purchasing groceries. Using data from the food market, the study aims to understand different nutritional attitudes and inform policymakers on specific targets and needs for effective public interventions.
Objective
The proposed research aims to improve our understanding of individual choices over which foods to purchase. The research aims to make fundamental contributions to models of choice and preference formation, and the outputs will inform the development of policy interventions that seek to improve nutritional outcomes. Our particular interest will be to better understand: (i) the importance of the foods available at home in childhood in influencing choices that young adults make over which foods to eat, (ii) the relevance of temptation and self-control in explaining poor nutritional food choices, and the ways that advertising might influence these behaviours, and (iii) the important interactions that exist between the ways that people spend their time (for example work and physical activity) and the food choices that they make and how this determines nutritional outcomes.
A proper understanding of the way that preferences are formed, and the ways that they might be influenced, is key to the design of effective public policy. The food market is a good place to study these questions for a number of reasons. First, people make decisions with high frequency and in different economic conditions, which helps provide variation needed for identification of key parameters of interest. Second, we observe the same individuals making choices both for immediate consumption and for future consumption, which will also help us with identification. Third, the food industry is of considerable policy interest. People in developed countries are getting fatter at an alarming rate. To the extent that people do not take account of the effects of this on themselves in the future and on others then they are making suboptimal decisions; they and society could potentially be made better off by policy intervention, but it is important that we have a good understanding of what impact these interventions are likely to have.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- social sciences political sciences political policies public policies
- social sciences economics and business economics
- social sciences sociology social issues social inequalities
- social sciences sociology governance taxation
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition obesity
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-ADG - Advanced Grant
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2015-AdG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
WC1E 7AE London
United Kingdom
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