Effects of cognitive overweight status on food choice.

Obesity is a serious concern from a personal and public health perspective. This research examines the effects of consumer cognitive overweight status (COS) on food choice. The results show that COS is a significant predictor of consumer food choices, and gender, age, and education differences are found. While the literature shows that many years of efforts by the public and private sectors do have positive influences on consumer food choices, more efforts should be made to help the public engage in weight control behaviors. Managerial and public health policy implications are provided.