Elaborating the science of food choice for rapidly changing food systems in low-and middle-income countries

Abstract The world's food systems and environments have been changing dramatically, concomitant with changes in over- and undernutrition. We elaborate the science of food choice to better understand, analyze, and respond to relationships between changing food environments and food choice. The science of food choice is concerned with generating knowledge about causal drivers of food choice decision making processes and behavior within immediate food and social environments. Three fundamental and interconnected questions undergird this science; 1) what do people eat from the options available and accessible?; 2) how do people interact with food environments?; and 3) why do people decide to acquire, prepare, distribute, and consume foods as they do? Not all food choice behavior is rational, reflexive, or discrete, but is embedded in wider activities of daily lives. The science of food choice involves understanding influences from multiple systems that drive food choice for deriving sound, actionable policy, and programmatic recommendations.