The Dietary patterns and eating behaviours group focuses on understanding and characterising contemporary diets, their impact on population and planetary health and potential determinants, including eating behaviours, food insecurity and other biopsychosocial factors.
Our focus
We consider dietary intake across the continuum from nutrients to foods to eating occasions (e.g. meals and snacks), along with dietary patterns, and the range of factors that affect them.
Our expertise
Our research draws on principles of nutritional and behavioural epidemiology and uses quantitative and qualitative methods. Our group examines population dietary intakes and human and planetary health relationships with a focus on food-based approaches, such as dietary patterns, as an alternative to focusing on individual food components. We generate evidence on eating behaviours and other factors as determinants of dietary patterns, to inform nutrition interventions promotion strategies.
Our group works with relevant partners to facilitate research translation, and provides evidence to inform policy and practice, particularly focusing on strengthening the use of epidemiological research by stakeholders.
Our research
This group covers:
- Developing novel methods for measuring and interpreting population dietary patterns and eating behaviours
- Understanding the role of foods, dietary patterns and eating behaviours in human and planetary health
- Examining dietary patterns and eating behaviours, and their relationships and interactions with biological, social, and environmental factors.
- Understanding food and nutrition literacy and food insecurity as determinants of eating behaviours and dietary patterns to assist people to promote healthy and sustainable dietary patterns.