Understanding interventions that change behaviour outside of conscious awareness

In a paper published in Health Psychology Review, we have proposed a framework for describing or categorising interventions to change behaviour by the degree to which their effects may be considered non-conscious. This is important because unhealthy behaviours often occur directly in response to environmental cues outside of conscious awareness, meaning that interventions that target non-conscious rather than conscious processes may have significant potential to shape healthier behaviours and improve health. However, examining this key premise requires a practicable conceptual framework that can be used to better describe and assess these interventions. This paper builds on a previous analysis by the same authors highlighting the importance of targeting automatic processes to change behaviour, published in Science in 2012.

Non-conscious processes in changing health-related behaviour: a conceptual analysis and framework. Hollands, Marteau, & Fletcher.

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Downsizing: What are the policy options for reducing portion sizes to help tackle obesity?

Downsizing: What are the policy options for reducing portion sizes to help tackle obesity?

A new BMJ Analysis article, written by researchers in the Behaviour and Health Research Unit (BHRU) and published on 2nd December 2015, outlines a range of actions with the potential to avoid the excess consumption of food and drink that consistently occurs when people are presented with larger portions, packages and tableware size. The actions focus on reducing the size, availability and appeal of such larger sized portions, packages and tableware.

Downsizing: policy options to reduce portion sizes to help tackle obesity. Marteau, Hollands, Shemilt & Jebb., 2015.

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Does portion size matter?

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A new systematic review led by researchers at the Behaviour and Health Research Unit (BHRU), published on the 14th of September in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, has found the most conclusive evidence to date that people consistently consume more food and drink when offered larger-sized portions, packages or tableware than when offered smaller-sized versions.

The size of this effect, based on combining data from 61 randomised controlled trials (6,711 participants), suggests that if sustained reductions in exposure to large sizes could be achieved across the whole diet, this could reduce average daily energy consumed from food by up to 16% among adults in the UK.

Portion, package or tableware size for changing selection and consumption of food, alcohol and tobacco. Hollands, Shemilt, Marteau, Jebb, Lewis, Wei, Higgins, & Ogilvie., 2015
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Can portion, package and tableware size increase consumption?

Our systematic review has produced the most conclusive evidence to date that people consistently consume more food and drink when offered larger-sized portions, packages or tableware than when offered smaller-sized versions. The size of this effect, based on combining data…