Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Why nutrition is important for us
Why nutrition is important for us
Why nutrition is important for us
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Why nutrition is important for us
Why we eat what we eat
Why we eat what we eat refers to why and how people eat, which foods they eat, and with whom they eat, as well as the way people store, use, and discard food. Individual, social, cultural, religious, economic, and political factors all influence the way people eat there food.
Economic
Money, values, and the consumer all affect what a person purchases. The price of a food is not an indicator of its nutritional value. Cost is a combination of a food's availability, status, and demand. There are differences in social classes with regard to food. Low-income groups in particular, have a greater tendency to consume unbalanced diets and have low intakes of fruit and vegetables. This leads to both under-nutrition and over-nutrition within the members of a community, depending on the gender and/or age group.
Factors influencing food choice are not only based upon individual preferences, but are by economics. Low-income groups face specific challenges when trying dietary change and solutions need to be specifically targeted. High-income groups have the opportunity to try any types of food. This influences the way we eat.
Political
Food politics are the political aspects of the production, control, regulation, inspection, distribution and consumption of food. Politics can be really affected by the ethical, cultural and medical disputes concerning proper farming, agricultural and retailing methods. Political factors also influence food availability and trends. Food laws and trade agreements affect what is available within and across countries, and also affect food prices. Food labelling laws determine what consumers know about the food they purchase.
Technological
Technology has indeed had an impact on how and what we ...
... middle of paper ...
...are eaten in some cultures, though they are unacceptable food sources in other cultures. There are also rules concerning with whom it is appropriate to eat.
Health
What we eat often depends on our health and what we eat also effects your health . When you are sick, it is normal for your appetite to decrease and to eat less. Sometimes, an unusually small or large appetite that persists can indicate a health condition that should be treated. The food we eat gives our bodies the information and materials they need to function properly. If we don't get the right information, our body processes suffer and our health declines.
If we get too much food, or food that gives our bodies the wrong instructions, we can become overweight and at risk for the development of diseases and conditions, such as arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease. What we eat is central to our health.
Now, to the health risks. Weight gain is obviously the most common risk associated with over-eating, however weight gain can lead to obesity which can lead on to a whole host of problems, including (according to
An important issue for Today is how can we make people pick the best nutritional option because giving the poor easy access to healthy food doesn’t mean they’ll buy It. For example, “In 2010, the Morrisania section of the Bronx
argue against, which is the position that the dietary choices of the poor are a reflection of availability, not of internal orientation. Jetter and Cassady conducted a statistical analysis of the food baskets of Americans in different income groups and found that individuals on food stamps purchase, on average, $36 per week less of food than individuals who shopped in a grocery store in a wealthier neighborhood, and who did not use food stamps. Jetter and Cassady used these data to reach the conclusion that what they construed as “healthier foods” (that is, the foods more likely to be available in the upscale grocery store) are more expensive, and therefore that the poor cannot afford to eat well. This result is specious, because (a) it failed to control for the actual contents of the test subjects’ baskets and (b) it conflated the cost of grocery baskets with the healthiness of food. Jetter and Cassady were attempting to lend empirical credence to the claim that food deserts force the poor to buy less nutrition food. In doing so, however, Jetter and Cassady failed to consider basket contents. If, for example, an individual on food stamps spent $200 on eggs, chicken breasts, beans, rice, and fresh fruit and vegetables, then surely such a choice would be healthier than an individual who spent $200 on candy bars and soda. Jetter and Cassady’s logical fallacy was to assume that the contents of the
Although the two authors do not refer to each other directly in their works, both their perspectives share a common ground that no enough income make people eating less healthy. Pinsker argues that the actual barrier that stops people from eating healthy is the lack of income (129-130). He uses studies to show that poor families choose processed food because children like those tasty processed food (Pinsker 129-134). Whereas poor families cannot afford the waste if children refused to eat healthier but less tasty food parents provided (Pinsker 129-134). Cortright also suggests that income matters the most to why people do not eat healthy. He even further discusses income as the most influential limiting factor by addressing that other factors such as physical proximity to local food sources do not cause people to eat less healthy (Cortright 135-138). The two authors, in general, reach a consensus and mutually prove that income plays as the biggest limiting factor for people to have healthy
In our fast pace society, we base everything on time and money. This need to save money and time has transformed the way we see food and purchase food. Food is an essential part of all cultures. It plays a role in every person’s life. The population has the power to choose what we eat and how the food industry is shaped. There are many important questions that we need to ask ourselves in order to keep the food industry in check. These questions are: How do we know our food is safe? What should we eat? How should food be distributed? What is good food? These are simple yet difficult questions.
Michael Pollan discusses two categories of food: one is real food (the kind our great-grandmother would recognize), while the other is “edible food-like substances”. The category that needs defending according to Pollan is the real food. This category of food is minimally processed, fresh (will eventually rot), and includes mostly things that are taken straight from the source (the ground, tree, etc.). When one walks into a store, they should look for and pick the foods that are more “quiet”such as fresh produce than the ones that have more labels that say they are more healthy, or better for you.
There are many consequences to having an unhealthy diet such as diabetes type two, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity. More severe conditions includes heart attacks, heart diseases. If
Research proves that low-income families will shop wherever the food prices are lower, and generally cannot afford to pay for healthful foods. In comparison to the residents of higher income communities, low-income households normally have diets that are higher in meat and processed foods and often have low intakes of fruits and vegetables. Research suggests that people with low socioeconomic status spend up to 37% more on food. This is because of smaller weekly food budgets in addition to poorly stocked stores. Those with lower income are more likely to spend money on inexpensive fats and sugars versus fresh fruits and vegetables that are more costly on a per calorie basis. Healthy foods like whole grain products are more expensive than high calorie junk foods.
Like all living things, humans require energy in order to perform basic bodily functions and to live out the events in their everyday life. We obtain this energy from the many different types of food that we eat, and it is necessary in or der to live out a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, food is one of the most expensive items we have to pay for throughout our life, and the prices of many foods are increasing—especially those that are most nutritious. With many job loss out in the world today some people might not even be able to find a well-paying job. As a result of this, many people in the lower class are struggling to provide the food necessary for not only themselves, but for their families as well. With low paying jobs that people have
The human body is like a machine that needs fuel to be able to accomplish certain tasks. Too much fuel or to little fuel can have a great impact on how the machine runs. Food is the fuel that runs the human body. Making the right food choices is crucial to a person’s health. Making unhealthy food choices can lead to the development of chronic diseases such as diabetes or cancer. Along with making the right food choices, it is also important to eat those foods in proper portions. Every person is different, so their portions will also be different. There are several factors that influence a person to eat food. Such as hunger, emotions, environment, availability, family and many more.
Nutrition is a basic necessity of life. Without a proper and well-balanced diet, it is difficult for any being, regardless of species, to survive. Unlike that of primates such as the great apes, the human diet is more full of calories and nutrients. Humans have a great understanding of what types of food are necessary to maintain good health. It is difficult to tell when the eating habits of Homo sapiens split apart from the eating habits of these other primates. Yet, one fact is certain. As human evolution continues to progress, the human diet also continues to evolve.
Zinczenko also states that, if you were to drive down any thoroughfare in America you are guaranteed to see a Mcdonald’s, but you are unlikely to find a place that sells any fresh fruits (Zinczenko 392). Zinczenko’s point is that the food industry’s unwillingness to promote more healthier foods is most likely the cause of the unhealthy diets of western societies. Another part of the problem is the pricing of healthier options, such as whole foods, fresh fruits, and low calorie snacks; all these foods are ridiculously overpriced compared to their unhealthy counterparts. One would think the food that is made to help prolong your life would be more accessible, instead it is the foods that are high on calories, fats and sugars that are cheap and available. Fast food companies go by the motto that cheaper is better, and it is how they compete with each other. Almost all fast food companies followed in McDonald 's footstep by creating a dollar menu, because they saw the drastic increase of McDonald 's revenue. When consumers see all these cheap meals for a dollar they readily buy their food from the dollar menus, rather than buying a single granola bar for the same price. In a society where most of the population is the working class, these dollar
When an individual eats too much, the body begins to gain weight. According to the online article “Compulsive Overeating as an Addictive Behavior: Overlap Between Food Addiction and Binge Eating Disorder,” by Caroline Davis, she states someone who has the body mass index of forty percent or higher is considered obese, which is a serious life threatening condition. Someone having this much body fat is at high risk of having high blood pressure which can lead to heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, etc. All of these diseases are life threatening, shortening a person’s life drastically. The reasons a person is obese can range from heredity to depression. Even though it is heredity, it can be avoided with the right diet and exercise. The reason why someone would put themselves through gaining so much weight were it is restricting them from living their life to the fullest is undetermined. In the article by Davis, she would argue that the reason binge eating is a thing is because of how addicting it is. Food is an addiction and a way to escape certain scenarios. Sometimes the goal of being thin like society has portrayed is not obtainable to females who have things getting in the way of weight loss. This causes a woman to go into depression, eating more and more, using food as a comfort rather as a way to
People living in the United States are known for eating unhealthy. More than one-third of adults in United States are struggling with obesity. People need to know how important it is to eat healthy food and avoid obesity in their lives. To be healthy, people need to control what they are eating and be active. There are three things that are causing people in United States to eat poorly and unhealthy. Lack of time to cook, expense of food, and dining out rather than staying at home to eat are reasons to eating unhealthy.
The growing world population is demanding more and different kinds of food. Rapid economic growth in many developing countries has pushed up consumers' purchasing power, generated rising demand for food, and shifted food demand away from traditional staples and toward higher-value foods like meat and milk.