Essay On Nutrition And Nutrition

In 2011, anthropologist Ellen Messer acknowledged that in spite of having enough food to feed the entire population on the Globe, more than 100 million people experienced shortages of food and nutritional deficiencies (as cited in Wiley & Allen, 2013, p.92). Thus, it is very important to consider analyzing various factors that influence nutritional status and its relationship with health. Theses statement: Health status and nutrition are interrelated because a healthy diet is essential for sustaining a person’s wellbeing. Several factors influence individuals’ choices of diet. These factors such as family, friends, community, but also history, media, and geographical location have a direct contribution towards people’s health status. By

Nutritional status is a good predictor of health; this is why it is important to have a balanced diet incorporating all macro and micronutrients. There is a strong correlation between diet and the development of certain diseases. For example, diets high in sugar, sodium, and saturated fats are causing people to become overweight, which is predisposing them to development of diabetes, malignancies, and cardio-vascular diseases (Wiley & Allen, 2013, p.84). An entire spectrum of factors influence people’s choices of diet such as family, friends, culture of the community, history, media, and

The hunter-gatherer diet had great variation of nutrients with increased amounts of animal products and also plant foods. As they transitioned to agriculture about 10,000 years ago, the great variety of foods was impossible to maintain. Instead, humans’ diet was primarily made of larger quantities of the fewer plants they domesticated, such as rice, wheat, and corn. As dietary diversity was in decline, the energy expenditure of growing crops was higher, especially in certain seasons. Nutritional deficiencies started to show up in populations where diet was based on one or two staples of food. Ancient bones show a variety of information about how nutritional status of humans was affected by the transition to agriculture. Claire Cassidy’s comparison between Indian Knoll hunter-gatherer and Hardin Village skeletons shows that tooth decay and porotic hyperostosis are more prevalent in humans who had agricultural diets (as cited in Wiley & Allen, 2013, p.90). Also, growth disruption is more severe and occurred for a longer period of time in the groups that relied on domesticating and growing their