Describe the characteristics of a healthy diet and the challenges associated with choosing the right foods.
The characteristics of a healthy diet include eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and
healthy fats. Limiting or excluding saturated fats and trans fats from our diets
would be optimal since these unhealthy fats increase our risk of heart disease.
The majority of our diet should be consumed from plant-based foods, as these
foods provide the best nutrients for our bodies (Sizer
& Whitney, 2013).
It
seems as though eating healthy would be easy to do, but with a 24-hour fast food restaurant on every street corner, it
seems impossible to not fall victim to the drive thru window. Convenient food makes
it very challenging to stay on the path of healthy eating. Due to the busy
lives that most people have, I would say it is safe to assume this is why so
many fast food chains thrive in America, because it is easy, fast, and cheap.
This is also a huge contributing factor to our increasing obesity rate. While
this food is convenient, it has little to no nutritional value, the serving
sizes are huge and the food is made up of ingredients I cannot even pronounce.
A study in the Journal of Law Medicine and Ethics states
that as of 2002, there were 514,085 food service establishments in the United
States. In addition, researched showed that families spend less time eating
meals together and about forty percent of family food dollars were spent on
food away from home (Savage, Fisher, & Birch, 2007, p. 23). Clearly,
fast food restaurants have made feeding ourselves too easy, and this is why we
choose these foods as opposed to quality ingredient home cooked meals.
The
primary factors that drive our food choices are social, psychological,
philosophical, and physical influences. Social influences play an important
role in our food choices. In my culture, eating food is seen as quality family
time. We have huge family functions and the kitchen ends up looking like a Las
Vegas buffet. Everything is fried, cheesy, and greasy. Socially, it is
unacceptable to turn away food. “People offering foods are expressing a
willingness to share cherished values with others” (Sizer & Whitney,
2013). For this reason, it is considered rude to not eat from every dish,
and to not finish your plate is completely frowned upon. I was raised to stop
eating when my plate is clean and not when I am full. I have had this mindset
my entire life, and have found it extremely difficult to try and change. Psychologically,
a food choice may be made as a coping mechanism to deal with stress. Some
people eat more when experiencing stress and some people stop eating altogether.
“Studies suggest that if work stress is prolonged or frequent, then adverse
dietary changes could result, increasing the possibility of weight gain and
consequently cardiovascular risk (European Food Information council, 2005). There
are also those individuals that have certain philosophies when it comes to
food. A common one I hear is “I am going to die anyway, I might as well eat
what I want”, or “life is too short to eat broccoli”. When people believe their
eating habits are justified, it is unlikely they will adjust their diets. Physical
factors play an important role in choosing foods, especially for athletes. Leading
up to an intense workout, many athletes will increase their carbohydrate intake
to ensure they have the adequate amount of energy to perform at their peak level.
References
European
Food Information Council. (2005, April). The Determinants of Food Choice
(EUFIC). Retrieved from http://www.eufic.org/article/en/expid/review-food-choice/
Savage, J. S.,
Fisher, J. O., & Birch, L. L. (2007). Parental
Influence on Eating Behavior: Conception to Adolescence. Journal of Law
Medicine & Ethics, 35(1), 22-34.
doi:10.1111/j.1748-720X.2007.00111.x
Sizer, F. & Whitney,
E. (2013). Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies (13th ed.).
Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.
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