The (mis-)measurement of food decisions

Humans have a fascination with quantifying behaviors. While numbers can provide intriguinginsights, they can also distort public perceptions and misguide policy design. This articledeconstructs the popular belief that individuals make 200 mindless food-related decisions aday, offering alternative perspectives on the conceptualization and measurement of fooddecisions. Specifically, we argue that existing decision-making theories offer limitedguidance in defining and measuring such decisions, and advocate for more preciseoperationalizations. We emphasize the need for contextual understanding over simplisticnumerical representations, propose a comprehensive working definition of food decisions,and consider alternative methods that may be better suited to capturing the complexity andnuance of food decisions. To conclude, we advocate for methodol