Encyclopedia of Nutritional Psychology

Appetite regulation is a complex feedback system between the hypothalamus, peripheral organs, and physiological, psychological, and environmental variables controlling energy balance, hunger, and satiety.

Our ability to control and regulate our dietary intake, including when, what, and how much we eat.

The arcuate nucleus is a cluster of neurons located at the base of the hypothalamus. It plays a central role in regulating appetite, metabolism, and energy balance. This nucleus integrates…

Associative learning is a psychological process in which an individual forms a connection between two events—such as a stimulus and a response—based on repeated pairings. In the context of eating,…

Atheoretical means "not based on or connected to any specific theory." In research or academic contexts, if something is described as atheoretical, it means it does not rely on, reference,…

Attachment anxiety predisposes an individual to be preoccupied with the reliability of the person they are attached to and that person’s availability to satisfy the individual’s attachment needs.

Avoidance describes the proneness to feel fear and uneasiness regarding intimacy and to find it difficult to accept being dependent on others within an affective relationship.

Attention is a complex term that can refer to a general level of alertness or vigilance, a general state of arousal, orientation versus habituation to a stimuli, and the ability…

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a DSM-5-TR neurodevelopmental disorder marked by an enduring pattern of inattention, hyperactivity–impulsivity, or both, with onset before age 12, and is relevant to nutritional psychology through shared mechanisms of inhibitory control, reward, and emotion regulation.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder defined in DSM-5-TR by persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction, together with restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities.…