Open research questions in Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior

What the literature leaves open

• There is a gap in the development of healthier smoothie recipes that are acceptable to children. The food industry could address the issue of excessive sugar in smoothies, but there is a risk that reformulated products will be rejected if the taste substantially differs from that of the original. Children's perceptions of healthier smoothie base ingredients are not well understood.

  Exploring Rural Children’s Ideal Healthy Smoothie: A Visual Focus Group Study · 2026 · DOI

• There is a lack of systematic assessment of the nutritional knowledge level among school-aged children in Chongqing. There is a need to identify knowledge gaps and their determinants. There is a need to formulate targeted educational strategies to improve the nutritional knowledge level among school-aged children.

  Nutrition knowledge awareness and associating factors among school-age children in Chongqing: a 2023–2024 survey · 2026 · DOI

• However, the occasions, locations, and reasons for consuming SSB among adults have not been addressed yet.

  Reasons, Locations and Occasions for Consuming Sugar-Sweetened Beverages among Adults of Lahore, Pakistan · 2026 · DOI

• Anxiety disorders are a major public health concern in South Korea, but evidence linking burden trends with modifiable meal behaviors is scarce.

  Burden of anxiety disorders in South Korea and cross-sectional associations of meal frequency, meal companionship, and eating-out frequency with probable anxiety symptoms · 2026 · DOI

• Recent research has identified grocery shopping patterns based on a series of transportation-related characteristics, but their links to diet and health outcomes remain underexplored.

  How are grocery shopping patterns related to individual diet quality, overall health and mental health? Evidence from four Canadian metropolises · 2026 · DOI

• The lack of significant findings in the intervention groups suggests that further research into HAF nutritional education is required.

  A quasi-experimental study to explore the association between nutritional education within the Holiday Activities and Food programme and related outcomes for children · 2026 · DOI

• Policies targeting improved access to fruits and vegetables across all neighbourhoods, especially those predominantly inhabited by individuals with lower educational levels, are warranted to reduce these inequalities.

  Uncovering intersectional inequalities in fruit and vegetable consumption in the UK using Understanding Society data · 2026 · DOI

• Large inequalities in fruit and vegetable consumption (FVC) persist, yet it remains unclear how intersecting factors such as socio-economic status, ethnicity and sex influence FVC in the UK.

  Uncovering intersectional inequalities in fruit and vegetable consumption in the UK using Understanding Society data · 2026 · DOI

• ANALYSIS: Interview transcripts were reviewed to verify participants' self-declared nutrition knowledge and identify misconceptions or gaps in understanding.

  Food consumption behaviour and self-perceived nutrition knowledge: a case study of students with limited formal nutrition education in pre-university schooling · 2026 · DOI

• However, little is known about how young adults experience, interpret, and are influenced by food-related videos on social media across different national and cultural contexts.

  Engagement and Influence of Food-Related Videos on Social Media Within the Dietary Realities of Young Adults in Jamaica and the United Kingdom: Qualitative Cross-National Study · 2026 · DOI

• However, little is known about the specific food content that emerging adults encounter in their own social media feeds and how this influences their understanding of healthy eating.

  What are influencers feed-ing us?: A photo-voice approach on emerging adults’ social media food environment · 2026 · DOI

• Despite extensive research on adolescents' sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, little is known about their perceptions, barriers and facilitators in relation to healthier beverages.

  Healthy beverages in a sugary world: Dutch adolescents’ perspectives on water and other healthy beverages; a qualitative multi-method study · 2026 · DOI

• Opportunities to share detailed information on meals and children's choices should be explored; this could enhance home-school partnership and help to engage parents in supporting better choices by children.

  Parents' perspectives on their children's school lunches in primary schools · 2026 · DOI

• However, their independent and combined effect on ER and intake in children remain poorly understood.

  The combined and independent influence of food texture and a ‘mindful eating’ instruction on eating rate and food intake among Dutch primary schoolchildren · 2026 · DOI

• Youth team sport athletes commonly exhibit inadequate reported energy and carbohydrate intake alongside frequent micronutrient shortfalls, although the reliability of these estimates is limited by methodological constraints.

  Dietary intake, nutrition knowledge, and behavior in youth team sport athletes: a scoping review and call to advance research and practice · 2026 · DOI

• Smoking is associated with differences in appetite and dietary behaviours, but how these behaviours are interrelated within smokers and non-smokers remains unclear.

  A network analysis of appetite and dietary behaviour patterns: differences between smokers and non-smokers · 2026 · DOI

• Meal kits, which provide pre‐portioned ingredients and simple recipes, may offer a practical strategy to support healthier eating among emerging adults, yet their relevance and feasibility in college settings remain poorly understood.

  Exploring Eating Patterns and Cooking Habits Among Emerging Adult College Students to Inform a Pilot Meal Kit Program · 2026 · DOI

• Recent research has explored various groups' opinions on having such a program; however, children's perceptions have been under-explored.

  Primary School Children's Views and Habits Around School Lunches · 2026 · DOI

• Stress is known to influence eating behaviour, yet the mechanisms linking psychological stress and dietary choices remain unclear.

  Sweet liker status moderates the relationship between perceived stress and snack preference · 2026 · DOI

• The complexity and nuance of how social networks shape dietary behaviours and health dynamics remain underexplored, particularly in collectivist societies where family and peer relationships strongly impact health.

  Applying network analysis to explore family and peer influence on diet and health in households of Singaporean young adults: findings from an online network survey · 2025 · DOI

• Moreover, the tool identified that oily fish and wholegrain provision were lacking across many menus.

  Developing and using a School Menu Healthiness Assessment Tool to analyse school food provision in Wales · 2025 · DOI

• 8 % of items had insufficient information and did not have a food group or a nutrient code assigned.

  Exploring the feasibility of using school food purchase data as a method to assess dietary intakes in secondary school aged pupils · 2025 · DOI

• Big Five personality traits and food choice motives are well-established correlates of dietary behavior, but they are rarely examined together.

  Personality traits add incremental value beyond food choice motives in predicting food-group consumption · 2026 · DOI

• Developing tiered and progressive nutrition education curricula tailored to the characteristics of different educational stages and knowledge dimensions. Investigating the effectiveness of nutrition education interventions in improving nutritional knowledge among school-aged children. Examining the impact of family, school, and societal factors on nutritional knowledge and behaviors among children.

  Nutrition knowledge awareness and associating factors among school-age children in Chongqing: a 2023–2024 survey · 2026 · DOI

• Investigate the relationship between self-compassion and eating behaviour in different populations - Examine the role of self-compassion in regulating ambivalence towards food - Explore the potential benefits of self-compassion-based interventions for promoting healthier eating…

  Ambivalence towards food, healthy eating and the role of self‐compassion · 2025 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior

• The development and validation of the state and trait food-cravings questionnaires · Behavior Therapy · 2000 · 405 citations
• The Influence of Parental Dietary Behaviors and Practices on Children’s Eating Habits · Nutrients · 2021 · 392 citations
• Self-regulation, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and social support: Social cognitive theory and nutrition behavior · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · 2007 · 381 citations
• The Influence of Social-Affective Context on the Formation of Children's Food Preferences · Child Development · 1980 · 338 citations
• Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 20th anniversary: accomplishments and future directions · Epidemiology and Health · 2021 · 293 citations
• Food Preparation and Purchasing Roles among Adolescents: Associations with Sociodemographic Characteristics and Diet Quality · Journal of the American Dietetic Association · 2006 · 205 citations
• Food and Mental Health: Relationship between Food and Perceived Stress and Depressive Symptoms among University Students in the United Kingdom · Central European Journal of Public Health · 2014 · 159 citations
• The development and validation of Spanish versions of the State and Trait Food Cravings Questionnaires · Behaviour Research and Therapy · 2000 · 143 citations
• Development and evaluation of cultural food frequency questionnaires for South Asians, Chinese, and Europeans in North America · Journal of the American Dietetic Association · 2003 · 134 citations
• New Life-Style Determinants of Women's Food Shopping Behavior · Journal of Marketing · 1979 · 132 citations

Most recent work

• Content prevalence is not adolescent exposure in TikTok influencer food marketing surveillance · Public Health Nutrition · 2026
• The socioeconomic patterning of Great Britain's fast-food outlets and supermarkets: A repeated cross-sectional study of area-level deprivation and food outlet density from 2011 to 2024 · Health & Place · 2026
• Protein Decoys, Alcohol, and Energy Intake: Testing a Mechanistic‐Ecological Model · Obesity Reviews · 2026
• What are influencers feed-ing us?: A photo-voice approach on emerging adults’ social media food environment · Appetite · 2026
• A machine learning model for predicting consumer preferences of melon flavor and sensory attributes · Applied Food Research · 2026
• A systematic scoping review of urban food environment research, interventions, and measurement approaches in eight low- and middle-income countries · International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity · 2026
• Healthful eating goes beyond dietary intake: considering the role of ‘eating behaviour’ in nutritional psychiatry · Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology · 2026
• A behaviour analysis of nutrition behaviours and technology use in individuals with severe mental illness · Appetite · 2026
• “I do feel a lot of guilt about the lunchboxes”: Exploring caregiver perceptions and experiences of packing school lunches · Appetite · 2026
• Healthy beverages in a sugary world: Dutch adolescents’ perspectives on water and other healthy beverages; a qualitative multi-method study · Appetite · 2026

Related topics in Nursing