Appropriate meal occasions: understanding conventions and exploring situational influences on food choice

This paper examines the way in which meal occasions influence food selection. It stresses the need to consider ‘appropriateness' as a measure of food choice, the impact of situational factors on behaviour, the role of the meal occasion as a specific type of situation, the changing nature of meals and the need to examine the way in which food is actually used. It concludes that, despite the current changes in our food consumption patterns, the meal occasion remains an important influence on food selection and suggests that appropriateness measures are central to understanding why we choose the foods we do.