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. 2018 Sep 20;9:1689. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01689

Table 2.

Definitions of the terms in the taxonomy.

Term Definition (sample reference provided for all terms except the four umbrella terms)
DIET AND DIETARY BEHAVIOR Overall umbrella term referring to all phenomena related to food choice, eating behavior, and dietary intake/nutrition.
1 Food choice Umbrella term for behaviors and other factors occurring before food actually reaches the mouth.
2 Preferences The extent to which food items are considered desirable or undesirable including underlying preferences (attitudes toward, e.g., taste, odor, color, or quality and health-related concerns) and expressed preferences (actual choice of one food item over another) (Rozin, 2006; Bernheim and Rangel, 2009).
3 Share of income spent on food The share of income (of one person, family, or household) that is spent on the totality of food one consumes (Clements and Si, 2017).
4 Willingness-to-pay Largest sum of money one is willing to pay for a certain food product (Varian, 1992).
5 Frequency of purchase How often a certain food product is purchased in a specific time frame (Kim and Rossi, 1994).
6 Product of purchase Which food product is purchased (Mohd Suki, 2016).
7 Food preparation Factors associated with how food is prepared for consumption (Larson et al., 2006).
8 Intentions What one intends or plans to choose, buy, or consume (Conner et al., 2002).
9 Eating behavior Umbrella term for outcomes related to the actual act of consumption.
10 Eating habits The typical/habitual eating behaviors that one has developed over time, often triggered automatically in response to contextual cues that have been associated with their performance (Gardner, 2015).
11 Eating occasions The actual eating event; may include also the physical and social context in which one eats (e.g., how often and when one eats at home; which portion size or number one eats when being with others) (Leech et al., 2015a).
12 Frequency How often one eats (Gomez et al., 2015).
13 Time When one eats (which moment of the day) (Kupek et al., 2016).
14 Portions The amount one eats (Amougou et al., 2016).
15 Size A specification of the amount one eats in terms of the size of a standard portion(Nielsen and Popkin, 2003).
16 Number A specification of the amount one eats in terms of the amount of standard portions (Benton, 2015).
17 Dieting To eat sparingly (typically in order to lose weight or maintain a certain body weight) (Heatherton and Polivy, 1990).
18 Disordered eating symptoms Signals of abnormal eating (e.g., anorexia and binge eating) (Rohde et al., 2015).
19 Neophobia/pickiness/fussiness Different aspects of selective eating (Dovey et al., 2008).
20 Dietary intake/nutrition Umbrella term for outcomes that break down the content of what exactly is being consumed.
21 Dietary pattern Specific combination of foods and beverages one eats on a regular basis, which includes a specific mix of nutrients (Hu, 2002).
22 Type of pattern Characterization of the dietary pattern, e.g., in Western, Mediterranean, and Prudent (Hu, 2002).
23 Diversity of pattern Diversity of foods and beverages consumed (within a specific pattern) (Hu, 2002).
24 Healthiness Extent to which the (combinations of) foods and beverages consumed are considered to have a negative or positive effect on one’s health (Ocké, 2013).
25 Unhealthy intake Consumption of (combinations) of foods and beverages attributed to have a negative effect on one’s health, e.g., sugar sweetened beverages (Ocké, 2013).
26 Healthy intake Consumption of (combinations) of foods and beverages attributed to have a positive effect on one’s health, e.g., fruits and vegetables (Ocké, 2013).
27 Meal pattern Frequency, time and content of meals one eats throughout the day as well as distribution of energy and nutrient intake across the meals (Leech et al., 2015b).
28 Meal content Combination of food items within a meal (Leech et al., 2015b).
29 Caloric and nutrient intake distribution Distribution of (daily) energy and nutrient intake across the main meals and snacks (Leech et al., 2015b).
30 Food intake Amount/servings of food items one eats within a specific time frame (mostly per day) (Illner et al., 2010).
31 Food components Food items or ingredients of a mix food that contain certain amounts of energy, nutrients, and non-nutritive substances (Coultate, 2009).
32 Nutrients The nutrients (carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water) in a food item (Coultate, 2009).
33 Energy The caloric content of a food item (Coultate, 2009).
34 Other Non-nutritive food components of a food item (Coultate, 2009).