Although choosing what food to eat it is not often viewed as more than an everyday mundane decision, the concept of food choice is ‘multifaceted, situational, dynamic, and complex’ (Sobal and Bisogni 2009, 38). We live in a society where the mass production of food has led to an extremely wide variety of choice in the foods we eat (Germov and Williams 2008, 10). Therefore, it is important that we understand the reasons for which we choose the food we eat, and to have an insight into the factors which dictate our food choices. There are three main factors which should be considered when making our food choices; biological determinants, economic and physical determinants and social determinants. These three broad factors will be discussed in relation to determining our personal food choice.

The biological determinants include physiological factors of the food itself, as well as our own personal hunger. Humans need energy and nutrients in order to survive and therefore the body’s physiological processes create a sensation of hunger and a subsequent need for food. Satiation occurs as food is being eaten which leads to satiety where food is no longer needed to be consumed (Bellisle 2005, par 4-7). The different nutrients in our foods cause the satiation process to vary in effectiveness. ‘Fat has the lowest satiating power, carbohydrates have an intermediate effect and protein has been found to be the most satiating’ (Stubbs et al. 1996, 409). Hunger and satiety therefore play a major role in the timing and size of meals and is therefore a major factor in our food choice.

Another aspect of the biological determinants of food choice are the sensory aspects involved and palatability. The pleasure a person experiences whilst consuming food is directly proportionate to its palatability. This is linked to the sensory aspects of food, including its taste, smell and