Why We Do What We Do
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There are a barrage of factors that affect what a person
eats, how much they eat, and with whom they eat it. One’s ethnicity, cultural heritage, and
demographic location influences the types of foods people eat (Sizer &
Whitney, 2014). In addition, I have
hinted previously about the social influence others have on an individual when
it comes to what they eat. Family
gatherings are such a blessing or are they the setting for obesity waiting to
happen? Do family functions include temptations
to indulge on unhealthy food or do you eat only those healthy things like a
turkey sandwich, broccoli, and an apple?
It is not uncommon for social gatherings with friends and family to
include large amounts of both healthy and unhealthy food choices. For every healthy item like a watermelon,
there might be a plate of cookies and cupcakes or there might be bowl of chips
and yummy cheese dip alongside that bowl of romaine salad. Which will you choose and what psychological
factors push you one way or the other?
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As people congregate, they might stand around the food. Your friend says, “You have got to try this
awesome dip on these mouthwatering chips”.
If you know the chips and dip are filled with saturated fat, do you
choose them knowing they are unhealthy and say no thanks to your peer-pressuring
friend or do you put some on your plate?
This is one example of how our social circles of influence shape our
decisions. Psychologically you know they are poor choices
if eaten in abundance, therefore, your mind finds a balance and has just a
few. This is an example of how both
social and psychological factors shape one’s decision of what to eat.
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Philosophically there are other reasons why a person eats
what he/she does. Maybe it is what the
parent of food preparer made and that is all there is to eat. Those deep-fried chicken nuggets, burritos,
corndogs, and french fries, or Asian foods like orange chicken and chow mein
sure look delicious. Sometimes a person
may not want to waste food since there may be a shortage of it so the person eats
it even if it is unhealthy or something they do not like.
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Another example is when the governing agencies restrict what
people have available to eat (Neuwirth, 2014).
In the United States, the government limits choices at public schools,
whereas in other countries, they might limit what is sold in stores or it may
be too costly for all socioeconomic classes to afford. Thus, people know what they should eat to
stay healthy, but others are restricting their choices. Should the government have control of
this? If there is national health coverage
in that country the government may deem they have the right to.
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People look to get the most for their money and this too
affects what items they buy despite the healthiness of them (Talukdar &
Lindsey, 2013). If an apple costs a
dollar and can be shared by one or two people, but a loaf of white enriched
bread can feed ten people then that leads people to choose one food over
another despite their knowledge that fruit is more nutritious. Their physical bodies need food and there is
only so much money with which to buy food, thus to eat or go hungry motivates a
person (Talukdar & Lindsey, 2013). A
person’s physical location also influences what types of food they are able to
attain (Sizer & Whitney, 2014). In
urban areas, fresh foods may be sparse so they eat high fat convenience foods
or in rural agricultural areas families might eat more high fat beef products
or fresh foods grown in gardens. One’s
proximity to food makes a difference.
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The availability and preference for foods driven by many
factors makes life choices difficult to balance regarding health. As society works to improve these factors
there is hope that each person has access to healthy food choices whether
supplemented by government programs or market availability (Neuwirth, 2014;
Talukdar & Lindsey, 2013). Each new
day there are things each person can be doing to improve their health and the
health of others so let us work together for the good of all.
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References
Neuwirth, R. J. (2014). ''Novel food' for thought' on law
and policymaking in the global creative economy. European Journal of
Law And Economics, 37(1), 13-50.
doi:http://dx.doi.org.proxy-library.ashford.edu/10.1007/s10657-013-9415-y
Sizer, F. & Whitney, E.
(2014). Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies (13th
ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.
Talukdar, D., & Lindsey, C. (2013). To buy or not to buy: Consumers' demand response patterns for healthy versus unhealthy food. Journal
of Marketing, 77(2), 124-138. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&sid=9a597ee8-057d-470b-b5b0-49debb2fa5da%40sessionmgr4005&hid=4212
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