Research on the Psychological Factors Shaping Physical Health and Nutrition

Dear Colleagues,

With this Special Issue of Nutrients, we would like to focus on the psychological determinants of health and nutrition, as well as to identify the most effective strategies to promote well-being and sustainable dietary habits.

It is well established that lifestyle transitions, social and cultural influences, and psychological processes strongly shape individual patterns of eating and health behaviours. At the same time, global challenges such as the growing prevalence of obesity, eating disorders, and chronic lifestyle-related diseases emphasize the urgent need to address health and nutrition not only from a biological, but also from a psychological perspective.

In this framework, health psychology, nutritional psychology, and behavioural sciences provide valuable tools to better understand the links between mind, emotions, and eating practices. These disciplines demonstrate that food choices and health-related behaviours cannot be explained solely through rational decision-making. Motivation, stress, habits, emotions, and cognitive biases all contribute to shaping the way people eat and how they perceive healthy living. Understanding these dynamics can help in designing tailored interventions, effective communication strategies, and preventive approaches that support healthier choices across different populations.

This Special Issue aims to collect empirical research, theoretical contributions, and interdisciplinary insights that will deepen our understanding of the psychology of health and nutrition.

In light of this, we invite you to contribute original research, but are not limited to, the following topics:

• Psychological determinants of healthy and unhealthy eating;
• The role of stress, mood, and emotions in dietary behaviours;
• Cognitive and motivational factors shaping health-related choices;
• Psychological barriers and facilitators of dietary change;
• Eating behaviours and mental health;
• Communication strategies to promote health and nutrition;
• Behavioural interventions and nudges to foster sustainable health practices 

Dr. Mateusz Grajek
Guest Editor

Dr. Tomasz Jurys
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.