Promoting positive change: Advancing the food well-being paradigm

Food well-being (FWB) is defined as “a positive psychological, physical, emotional, and social relationship with food at both the individual and societal levels” (Block et al., 2011, p. 6). This article seeks to advance our understanding of FWB along two dimensions. First, we discuss how awareness of consumer goals, as well as motivation and readiness to change, may help us to understand consumer preparedness to advance FWB. Second, we deconstruct the automatic and deliberative influences on food decision making into cognitive and emotional information that guide food choices and can be used by consumers to advance their own FWB. We close with a discussion of how measurement and strategies to influence FWB may allow researchers, policymakers, and industry to help consumers advance FWB.