| In this dissertation, a new construct is introduced as a means for systematically assessing the meanings associated with eating behavior and food choice. There are many determinants of food choice that have been operationalized throughout the health behavior literature. Some factors are instrumental, external, and/or immediate, whereas others are more global, higher-order and distal from the process of food selection and eating. However, the literature still lacks a comprehensive construct for systematically assessing the ways that food is related to people's larger meaning systems, systems composed of durable and enduring values, goals and beliefs. The Meaning of Food in Life (MFL) project was therefore designed to operationalize the construct of the MFL as well as explore how this, in turn, influences food choice. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.). |
