Regularly consuming caloric beverages has been linked to obesity and weight gain and evidence suggests this is because beverages have a weak impact on satiety responses (behavioural and physiological). Using a series of experimental studies this thesis explored the cognitive and sensory features of caloric beverages that might enhance the anticipated and actual satiating power of their nutrients. Paper one characterised the sensory characteristics associated with expectations of hunger, fullness and thirst, finding that food and beverage products anticipated to be creamier and thicker were expected to be more satiating and less thirst-quenching. Paper two established that people can perceive subtle changes in beverage viscosity and manipulating thick and creamy textural cues strongly influenced the expectation that a beverage would be filling and supress hunger after consumption. This was extended in paper three, which reported evidence suggesting that a sensorially enhanced beverage is selected and consumed in smaller portions. Papers four and five investigated the satiating power of a caloric beverage consumed with satiety-relevant cognitive and sensory information. Paper four reported tentative evidence that a labelled satiety message influenced the satiating effect of caloric beverages when combined with thick and creamy sensory cues. Participants in Paper five reported greater satiety responses to a covert manipulation of beverage energy when consumed as a ‘snack' rather than a drink. However, consuming the same beverage in a subtly thicker sensory context (without extra information) generated the largest satiety response to the different nutrient loads, perhaps because textural characteristics are the most reliable cue for nutrients. Overall these studies suggest that caloric beverages may generate weak satiety responses because their nutrient-generated effects are not expected. Encouraging people to consider caloric beverages as a snack, or adding in nutrient-relevant sensory characteristics, may both help consumers regulate energy intake when consuming these products.

This thesis enhances our understanding of the British Kitchen Front through the examination of primary sources from Mass Observation Archive. It illuminates the everyday life of civilians, the impact of the war food restrictions on their eating habits and practices, but also on their perspectives and behaviours. Moreover, it argues that while the food practices of these civilians were modified by the wartime rationing and food scarcity, other factors of influence, namely social class, personal and familial circumstances and time were critical regarding eating habits, food choice and priorities. In order to conduct this research and respond to the difficulties presented by the sources examined, a tailor-made method of data extraction, categorisation and analysis has been designed. Using the advantages of quantitative and qualitative methodologies, this method allowed an unusual quantitative treatment of massive qualitative data, the creation of measurable and comparable figures as well as their qualitative contextualisation. It was found that scarcity of food effectively modified the diet of the diarists, but also their actions and perspective. The food difficulties generated new behaviours, some unlikely to have existed prior to the war, and modified relationships. The value of food changed as well, modifying its role in private and public sphere. However, as argued, the social class and the familial status of the diarists were a key dimension of the management and perception of the food situation, influencing their choice, decision and priorities as well as their response to it. The passing of time also proved to be influential regarding the adaptation and the evolution of the opinion and feelings of the diarists. Rather than drastically challenging the existent literature, the present research suggests that some interpretative differences concerning the Home Front experience could be the result of a variation of focus and of sources employed, indicating the need to enlarge the historical perspective, to include more in depth analysis of qualitative data, and to take into account the factors of influence presented into this work.

A wealth of support has shown higher levels of state and trait impulsivity can be found among those individuals prone to developing problematic eating behaviors and obesity. Thus, upon commencing the investigations in this thesis, it was hypothesized that impulsivity is an individual difference implicated in overeating behaviour. Increasing information indicates that there are divisions within impulsivity subtypes. Prior to this thesis, studies in the field of eating behaviour had not distinguished between subtypes of impulsivity. This was problematic because it limited researchers ability to describe how impulsivity is specifically involved in the perpetuation of overeating behaviour. The purpose of this Thesis was to provide a methodical inquiry into the relationship between impulsivity, and its relation with overeating behaviour. This objective was achieved by separating three prioritites, first to determine if impulsivity was higher in women who self report overeating, second to define differences between impulsivity classifications and determine if there was a consistnent pattern between self reported overeating and a relation to a subtype of overeating behaviour, and third to designate a specific impulsivity subtype to individuals who self report overeating behaviour. Six Experimental Chapters explored these three priorities. Two exploratory correlational/regression analysis were used to refine our ability to operationalize measures of self reported overeating and impulsivity (Chapters 2 and 5). Chapter 3 and Chapter 5 were devoted to assess the impact that ingestion of palatable food, and the violation of cognitive boundaries of restraint, have on subsequent impulsivity. The two remaining investigations were structured to assess the impact that environmental factors have on impulsive behaviour. In Chapter 4, a Controlled versus Unrestricted eating environment were manipulated to determine whether overeaters benefit from a structured breakfast meal prior to completing a battery of impulsivity tasks. In Chapter 7, anticipation for a rewarding food item was manipulated in two conditions. In this final Chapter, the impact that anticipation for rewarding food in self reported overeaters was assessed. The battery of impulsivity tasks in this thesis include the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART), The Go No Go task, the Matching Familiar Figures task (MFFT), and two versions of the Delay Discounting Task (DDT). Impulsivity was classified along a spectrum of Reward Reactivity versus Inhibition subtypes, based on Evenden´s (1999) classification of impulsive behaviour. Participants tendency to overeat was based on a dual classification of tendency to restrain eating (Three Factor Eating Questionnaire- Restraint) with tendency to overeat (Three Factor Eating Questionnaire-Disinhibition subscale). The outcomes of the five experimental investigations in this thesis demonstrated a reliable pattern by which participants with high Disinhibition scores had significantly more impulsive responses on the MFFT task. These results indicated that inhibition impulsivity is the clearest individual difference to be found between healthy volunteers who self-report overeating. The role that Inhibition Impulsivity plays in the perpetuation of overeating behaviour is illustrated and discussed in each Experimental Chapter.

This thesis challenges accounts of individual choice and responsibility where food consumption is concerned, beginning with a critique of government policies to address the health effects of over-consumption of food. Whilst research from psychology and economics has acknowledged the role of habit and automaticity in some behaviours, including eating, the resulting theory of behavioural economics and its operationalisation as ‘nudge' theory does not directly address class differences. I argue that sociological analysis can do so, and discuss the trajectory of social class in social theory in recent decades, bringing together the insights of several theorists to challenge both Giddens's concept of reflexivity and postmodern notions of consumerism as an equalising force. I demonstrate that social theory can provide a solid underpinning to behavioural economics, and at the same time show the weakness of its policy applications to healthy eating. Given the relative inattention to the structures that shape dietary ‘choices', in comparison to the study of behaviour, this thesis examines the nature of the food supply and traces how the food industry develops, markets and sites food, and the ways in which it engages, often interactively, with a highly segmented society. The production and targeted supply of processed foods of varying quality contributes to problematic food consumption, particularly among those of lower social status. This phenomenon is further evidenced by an epidemiological review outlining the food-health-class link. Subsequently, I conduct the first sociological analysis of food industry texts (representing food science, product development and marketing), revealing how actors within these disciplines articulate their role, function and concerns regarding current practice. A critique of marketing emerges from both practitioners and marketing academics, and I apply this and an expanded sociological critique to the role of the food supply in diet-related ill health, in which a social gradient is strongly apparent.

Sensory-specific satiety (SSS) is a significantly greater pleasantness decline for a consumed (Eaten) food, than foods that are tasted but not consumed (Uneaten). SSS occurs during consumption, reaches optimal magnitude immediately afterwards, and returns to baseline within two to three hours. The phenomenon is dependent on the sensory properties, rather than the energy or macronutrient content of the food. To the extent that an Uneaten food shares similar sensory properties with the Eaten food, the Uneaten food may be subject to pleasantness decline: a transfer effect. Repeated exposure to a food stimulus may alter liking in the long-term, through mere exposure, monotony, and dietary learning paradigms resulting in an association between the novel target food and either a known food stimulus, or a consequence of consumption. Novel foods are more susceptible to these effects than familiar foods, for which learned associations may have already formed. Repeated consumption alone does not modulate SSS, but to date such studies have not tested novel foods. Through six experiments this research explores the influences of long-term pleasantness changes of novel foods and the number and type of Uneaten foods present during SSS testing, on the magnitude of SSS for snack foods. While no evidence of mere exposure or dietary learning was found, and in some instances experiments failed to induce SSS, these negative results are likely due to methodological, and sometimes procedural issues in the design and conduct of experimental testing. Findings revealed SSS to be vulnerable to a number of procedural and methodological factors, such as: portion size; baseline novelty and pleasantness ratings; hunger; perceived ambiguity of measurement scales; and expectations raised by the type and number of Uneaten foods present during testing.

Given the global food price spike experienced in 2007/8, the core question of this research is, ‘what was the impact of the rising food prices on household welfare in Zambia'? Taking an empirical approach and using micro-economic methods, four welfare outcomes are assessed: consumption, equality of income distribution, poverty and nutrition. The 2006 and 2010 cross-section household surveys - Living Conditions Monitoring Surveys (LCMS) - are primarily used to answer the question. The thesis first assesses the changes in consumption patterns across time, geographical locations and quintiles. The short-term distribution of income from the rise in prices is then analysed using non-parametric methods to show the likely winners and losers from the price spike and the subsequent impact on poverty. These results are supplemented by a supply response as an attempt to understand longer-term poverty effects. The final empirical exercise focuses on nutrition outcomes. The thesis confirms the hypothesis that on average, urban households may suffer a welfare loss but rural households may gain. In the case of maize grain, the results suggest that the highest gain may accrue to rural households clustered around the poverty line. Furthermore, the findings suggest that, while overall poverty may increase in the short-run, the long-run impacts of rising food prices (once supply response are accounted for) may lead to a marginal decline in poverty. Finally, we observe that the slight increase in income, from selling maize, among some rural households may not necessarily lead to an improvement in nutrition outcomes. In particular, while rural households exhibit a small net rise in income from an increase in maize prices, the impact on stunting levels among children below five years appears to be regressive in both urban and rural areas. The overall results of this research strengthen the case for contextual impact analysis of covariate shocks and also highlight the policy challenges arising from such conflicting results.

The amount of food thrown away by UK households is substantial and, to a large extent, avoidable. Despite the obvious imperative for research to identify key factors that motivate, enable or prevent household food waste reduction, little research to date has directly addressed this objective. The research presented in this thesis had two clear aims: (1) to investigate antecedents of household food waste reduction and barriers to change, and (2) to explore whether self-affirmation techniques can increase motivation to reduce household food waste. Four empirical studies were conducted. The first study qualitatively explored thoughts, feelings and experiences of 15 UK household food purchasers. Analysis revealed seven core categories representing both motivations and barriers to household food waste reduction. The second study (N = 279) applied an extended theory of planned behaviour (TPB) model to predict household food waste reduction intention and behaviour. Results revealed that the extended TPB variables predicted 64.55% of intention to reduce household food waste and 5.03% of the variance in household food waste behaviour. Studies 3 and 4 explored whether self-affirmation techniques would promote openness to information detailing the negative consequences of household food waste. Study 3 (N = 224) found that self-affirmed participants reported more positive cognitions towards household food waste reduction on a number of outcomes compared to their nonaffirmed counterparts. However, there was no impact of the self-affirmation manipulation on behaviour at follow-up. Study 4 (N = 362) failed to replicate the impact of selfaffirmation on cognitions. However, self-affirmed participants reported that they threw away less household food waste at follow-up. Further research in the context of selfaffirmation on food waste reduction behaviour is required.

There is a strong body of psychological research implicating the mass media in the aetiology of adolescent girls' negative body image and eating behaviours. The present thesis aims to extend this research by examining potential factors – namely, media type, body perfect internalisation and materialism – that make girls more vulnerable to the negative impact of the mass media. An initial meta-analysis (Chapter 3) collated the findings of existing research examining the impact of ‘body perfect' media on adolescents' body image; examining gender, age and media type as moderators of this effect. Chapter 4 examined the relative roles of both media type and media model identification (a key dimension of body perfect internalisation), within the mass media and body image relationship. Using both survey and experimental methods (N = 199), it was found that adolescent girls' habitual tendency to identify with media models, was a more potent vulnerability factor within the mass media and body image relationship, than media type. Due to the limitations associated with existing measures of body perfect internalisation, a new measure of body perfect internalisation was developed in Chapter 5 (N =373), which was subsequently utilised in the final experiments of the thesis. Chapter 6 demonstrated that acute music video exposure had a more potent negative impact on girls' body image than still media images (N = 142); an effect that was fully mediated by wishful character identification and also moderated by body perfect internalisation. Chapter 7 consists of two studies that demonstrate the important role which materialism plays within the mass media, body image and eating behaviour relationship. In Study 1, structural equation modelling identified a direct pathway between materialism and restrained eating that was independent of body image (N = 199). This finding was further replicated in an exposure experiment, which demonstrated that brief exposure to materialistic media causes acute diet-like behaviours in adolescent girls (N = 180).

This thesis explores how Mexican fresh produce supply chains have responded to US bio-security regulations designed to prevent the intentional and accidental contamination of imported food. It explores the compliance processes, which are theorised using a framework drawn from the Resource-Based View (RBV) and the Supply Chain Governance (SCG) literatures. The constructs developed herein regarding capabilities and supply chain ‘governance structures' complement previous Regulation Studies (RS) explaining compliance behaviour. The thesis analysed 12 case studies, and tested causal conditions of compliance using a multi-value Qualitative Comparative Analysis (mvQCA) method. The main results show: 1) the pathways to meet the regulatory requirements; 2) the limited diversity of capabilities associated with higher levels of compliance; and 3) the importance of tight supply chain coordination to source and exchange knowledge for compliance, regardless of how or who governs the supply chain. The thesis contributes to various academic debates. It removes the RVB assumptions that resources and capabilities are intrinsically valuable and complementary, and therefore contributes towards making the theory less tautological. It shows how SCG benefits when the effects of supply chain integration and coordination are examined independently. It differentiates between firms lacking willingness and firms lacking capabilities to comply, making it possible to define suitable regulatory strategies for each type of firm. The thesis makes a methodological contribution as it is one of the first studies applying the mvQCA in Science, Technology and Innovations Studies (STIs). The new methodology is used here to test the causal conditions of compliance, but can also be applied to innovative performance more generally. The thesis concludes by showing how US regulations were effective in achieving their regulatory aims without significant negative consequences, and suggesting that STI regulatory policies can be used to increase business engagement to prevent the intentional and accidental contamination of the food chain.