Sense of Purpose and Dietary Outcomes: Considering Motives, Knowledge, and Dietary Intake

This study considered associations between sense of purpose and diet by evaluating outcomes related to what and why one eats. Participants (n = 333) completed an online survey, reporting on their sense of purpose, dietary behavior and motivations, consumption of a Mediterranean diet, concerns for food and health, self-rated health, self-control, food literacy, food insecurity, BMI, and their Big Five personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism). Results showed that sense of purpose was positively associated with motivations to eat due to health and hunger, but negatively linked to motivations related to social image or affect regulation. Sense of purpose also correlated with less perceived lifetime health risk and greater consumption of a Mediterranean diet, self-control, and food literacy. Associations between sense of purpose and dietary outcomes were strongest with respect to self-control and reduced motivation to eat for affect regulation. Associations between sense of purpose and self-rated health, self-control, eating to regulate affect, and perceived lifetime health risk held even when controlling for all Big Five personality traits. Incorporating sense of purpose in dietary discussions may enrich health-related education and marketing, and healthcare providers who consider patients’ sense of purpose may better promote healthy behaviors in patients.