For many years, researchers in the NBU have been interested in food choice and how previous experience influences dietary behaviour. Our research continues to address related questions and previously we have received funding for the following projects;

• BBSRC - Does flavour-nutrient inconsistency compromise energy regulation in humans? The current food environment is characterised by an endless variety of cheap, readily-available and highly-palatable foods. While it is generally recognized that this ‘obesogenic’ food environment is responsible for the increases in overweight and obesity, the specific mechanisms by which the current food environment promotes overeating are still being explored. This project focussed on whether weight gain is promoted by novel ingredients that cause 'biological uncertainty' about the foods that we are consuming.
• EU-FP7 - Nudge-it project - Deconstructing food choice: a role for sensory, nutrient, and satiety reward Eating too much, or making poor food choices can lead to excess weight gain and obesity, which increase the risk of  various health problems such as heart disease, diabetes and stroke. Therefore, understanding the factors which govern people’s food choices is a priority. The Nutrition and Behaviour Unit (NBU) was part of a consortium of 16 institutions across six European countries, the US and New Zealand working on a £7.4 million program, funded by the European Commission, to investigate what drives decisions about when we eat, how much we eat and the types of foods we choose to eat. The ultimate goal of the project was to provide evidence for public health policies aimed at promoting healthier diets. Our work focussed on differences in food choice associated with gender, dietary restraint and BMI. Our aim was to develop novel methods to isolate the independent role of sensory (i.e., vision, taste, smell), nutrient (i.e., macronutrients ingested, energy content), and satiety (i.e., post-ingestive signals).