Much research has been conducted on the subject of food preferences and aversions. However, mny questions remin unanswered. Why do we like some foods but not others? Where do our food preferences and aversions come from? Why is it that parents' food preferences do not often coincide with those of their children? The answers to these questions are still far from being settled. In this article, we describe the main mechanisms involved in the acquisition of food preferences and aversions, their relation with problems of health and some of the programmes used in the clinical treatment of aversions. Finally, we stress the need to use these research findings in promoting preventive health care.