THE CHOICE OF FOOD - COGNITIVE CONSIDERAT IONS

Among the concepts which subtend the choice of food the one of ''good' ' and ''bad'' food is one of the most commonly shared. The author show s that the perception of ''good food'' depends on numerous emotional, cognitive and sociocultural factors... He then presents the results of a study on the definition of ''good food'' amongst people suffering f rom eating disorders who appear to have internalised a mediated social rule concerning food and make drastic selections thus removing the po ssibility of choice of foodstuffs. Those who suffer not from eating di sorders have a carefree, varied and balanced diet. They choose food mo re freely thanks to less rigid rules and more numerous thought pattern s. Starting from today's data and theories concerning the mechanisms b y which food comes to be liked or disliked the author asks questions a bout the disturbance of such mechanisms among those suffering food dis orders and about the relevance of cognitive therapy centred on the cog nitive processes in eating.