Food is one of the most important determinants of health, and people everywhere hold beliefs about this relationship. They endeavour to select, prepare, and consume food in ways they believe to be consistent with health promotion and protection. Unfortunately, however, many food beliefs and practices are not in accord with scientific concepts of balanced nutrition and hygiene (safety). Although the types, varieties, and quantities of food available to a community are determined largely by ecological, economic (including trade), and technological factors, food habits and beliefs – i.e. food-related behaviour – strongly influence what is actually consumed, and in what forms and quantities. These habits and beliefs therefore have major implications for health-promoting aspects of food and for the prevention of malnutrition and food-borne diseases.

Food habits formed under particular social and economic conditions, and entirely adequate to those conditions, may be carried by individuals and groups into other settings where they may be unsuitable and even harmful to health. For example, rural or tribal people moving to towns, or migrant workers, tourists, or refugees living for varying periods in strange communities, may face health problems because of their food habits or may cause difficulties for the host communities. Although food habits change constantly under various pressures, it is well to realize that dietary beliefs are among the most resistant to change, and that it is often extremely difficult to hasten changes in food habits, even when those habits constitute serious health hazards.