From a psychological perspective, a new healthy diet may be difficult to achieve for a person with poor eating habits. This may be due to tastes acquired in early adolescence and preferences for fatty foods. It may be easier for such a person to transition to a healthy diet if treats such as [[chocolate]] are allowed; sweets may act as mood stabilizers, which could help reinforce correct nutrient intake.
It is known that the experiences we have in childhood relating to consumption of food affect our perspective on food consumption in later life. From this, we are able to determine ourselves our limits of how much we will eat, as well as foods we will not eat - which can develop into eating disorders, such as [[anorexia nervosa|anorexia]], [[bulimia nervosa|bulimia]], or [[orthorexia nervosa|orthorexia]] This is also true with how we perceive the sizes of the meals or amounts of food we consume daily; people have different interpretations of small and large meals based on upbringing.
While plants, vegetables, and [[fruits]] are known to help reduce the incidence of chronic disease,{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}} the benefits on health posed by plant-based foods, as well as the percentage of which a diet needs to be plant based in order to have health benefits is unknown. Nevertheless, plant-based food diets in society and between nutritionist circles are linked to health and [[longevity]], as well as contributing to lowering cholesterol, weight loss, and in some cases, [[Stress (medicine)|stress]] reduction.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}
Indeed, ideas of what counts as "healthy eating" have varied in different times and places, according to scientific advances in the field of nutrition, cultural fashions, religious proscriptions, or personal considerations.
