Determinants of how individuals choose, eat and waste: Providing common ground to enhance sustainable food consumption out-of-home

Abstract

The transformation of food consumption in wealthy economies is regarded as an essential measure to reach global sustainability goals. However, existing policies and research activities to change food consumption in the increasingly relevant out-of-home sector relate to a wide set of options on how to influence behaviours and may be criticized to lack a general focus. Against this background, our study provides a structured review of the existing research body on the determinants of individuals’ food choices and food consumption out-of-home. It structures the various research approaches and findings for 110 selected papers according to a general ecological framework where personal, social and environmental determinants for food behaviours are considered. By providing a collective overview and linking results for different behavioural aspects and settings, this study supports a more general understanding of consumer food behaviour in out-of-home settings. Consequently, it also provides a means to identify research gaps and to suggest relevant aspects for future research to draw from the combination of findings and to enhance sustainability in food consumption.