Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Psychiatry 1735-4587 12 4 2017 10 18 238 247 EN Arezoo Haghighian Roudsari National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Abouali Vedadhir Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran Parisa Amiri Department of Social Determinants of Health, Research Institute of Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Naser Kalantari Department of Community Nutrition, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Nasrin Omidvar Department of Community Nutrition, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Hassan Eini-Zinab Department of Community Nutrition, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Hani Sadati Department of Integrated Studies in Education, Faculty of Education, McGill University, Montreal, CANADA. 2016 11 15 Background: Food choice is a process through which people think, feel, and eat food. It is not only influence individuals' health and well-being, families and communities, but also has effect on regional, national, and global levels. This qualitative study was carried out to explore perceptions and lived experiences of Tehranian adults on psychological, social and cultural determinants of food choice. Methods: In this qualitative design, 33 adults aged 30-64 years old were recruited from various districts of Tehran, Capital of Iran to make us capable of exploring how people make decision about food choice in practice and shape their perception, attitude and eating practices An individual in-depth semi-structured interview guide included major questions with follow-up probes was used to explore participants’ current and past eating habits from childhood to adulthood, dietary change at different life courses and effective psychological state on food selection in different seasons. Findings: This study revealed that food choice in the studied adults (30-64 years old) is widely influenced by psychological, social and cultural determinants which can be categorized into five main themes: Cultural context and patterns, Social Structure and Norms, Information Resources and Media, Household and Family structure, Nutrition transition. Conclusions: The findings clarify the importance of social and cultural contexts which influence the food choice of adults in metropolis like Tehran. Many of these concepts contextualize from the childhood and with the development of individuals. These findings could serve as guidance to design socio-culturally appropriate strategies and improve dietary behaviors of Iranians. https://ijps.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijps/article/view/863 https://ijps.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijps/article/download/863/666