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A blend of many factors, ranging from bioloiical to anthropologic, interact in complex and changing ways to influence the development and maintenance of food choices. Understanding behavioral influences within the context of psychosocial influences is critical to the development of dietary recommendations, nutrition programs, and educational messages that will assist consumers in constructing healthful diets and promote dietary change. To select the most appropriate targets of change (Le., the most critical beliefs and behaviors), it is important to know and understand the critical influences on food choice and ascertain which of these are subject to modification. Historically, the public health approach to dietary change has been based on the premise that consumers will abandon those dietary behaviors that are demonstrably unhealthy in order to prevent hture illness. Although the assumption that knowledge shapes behavior may appear self-evident, evidence suggests that providing information about risk does not have much effect on food behavior unless it can overcome counteracting psychosocial, behavioral, and environmental barriers.'If dietary change were simple, then dissemination of information would automatically lead to behavior change. However, this has not occurred for any dietary behavior. Eating behaviors are acquired over a lifetime; to change them requires alterations in habits that must be continued permanently-long beyond any short-term period of intervention. Dietary guidelines aimed at reducing fat consumption often advocate avoiding specific foods or even categories of foods and can be perceived as overly restrictive …