Nutrition, Culture, and Innovation Food Habits - Case Study Example

Running Head: NUTRITION, CULTURE AND EATING HABITS Student’s Name: Course Code: Lecture’s Name: Date of presentation: Introduction Factors Influencing Eating Habits Patterns Eating habits refers to how and why individuals or groups of people eat, the food type they eat, and with whom they take food with, as well as how and where they obtain, use, store and dispose food. Eating patterns can be influenced by individual, socio-cultural, economic, religious and political factors. Individual factors may range from level of education, age, time constraints, work routines, tastes and preferences, and cultural beliefs among other reasons. Although the above factors influence eating behaviors and etiquette, it is worth noting that their influences are not static since they tend to change as one matures up. This assignment paper seeks to investigate by analyzing the underlying reasons that control eating habits and patterns. I am 28 year old male and apart from being a student, I engage myself in part time job. Basically, my eating habit is dictated by availability of time, cost and ease of storage of food. Although primarily human beings eat to live, there are cases where we eat to express sense of belonging, satisfaction and appreciation and also feel part and parcel of our traditions (Dijkstra, 2008). Food and Diet Questionnaire 1. Questions 1 and 2: Shopping and preparing food Due to time constraint, I shop once in a week, mostly on weekends. I do also prepare my own meals about three to four times a week; mostly breakfast. I do shopping for meaty products, daily products, and various types of bread, vegetables and fruits. If I was totally not cooking and with little shopping, I would be consuming meals from fast foots outlets around. I would be buying pizza, hamburgers and chips. In order to keep my diet on check, I would increase my consumption of milk and milk products as well as more fresh fruits and vegetables. Due to my busy schedule, I require a lot of energy giving foods such as carbohydrates and fibres. This means that I would include wholegrain and high fibres dishes such as cereals, pasta, rice and noodles in my daily food ration. If someone was doing the shopping and cooking for me, I guess my diet would greatly depend on his or her nutritional know-how. Most likely I would end up consuming more fats which can be dangerous to my already high body weight. To check this I would need to buy nutritional supplements and be a little more involved in checking my diet. 2. Increase in my food expenditure The reason why I prefer preparing my own food is to check my budgetary food expenditure. If I have more money at disposal purposely for food, I would opt to eat out in restaurants in and around the campus. I would be in a position to buy healthier dishes such as freshly prepared meals, low fat dairy products, fish and chicken and taking supplement with drinks and snacks in between meals. Most likely I would end up consuming more fats which can be dangerous to my already high body weight. To check this I would need to buy health nutritional supplements. 3. Question 7- importance of some food eating behaviors It is very important for me not to eat unsaturated fats. As I mentioned earlier I need to keep on checking my weight. Studies have shown that unsaturated fats contributed to cases of coronary heart diseases (Valsamis, 2009). According to Dijkstra, (2008), there is need to avoid taking animal based oil and fats and partially hydrogenated oils. The same oils have been attributed to certain cases of diabetes and obesity. The Diabetes Research and Education Organization identify main risk factors of type II diabetes as being age and overweight (Australian Bureau of statistics, 1998). In Australia as a result of influx of immigrants from Asia and European, the population has now adopted development of cuisines that has substituted the convectional “Anglo- Australian” foods. Eating a fruit daily is less important, I believe that the nutritional value can be substituted by drinks and fresh juices that I consume daily. Although with or without a fruit am comfortable, I often find that in the course of my meals I have taken a slice or two of pineapple, mango or orange. Most of the nutrients in fruits, I often get them from fresh vegetables that I always eat. 4. Reasons for being a vegetarian Vegetarianism refers to the dietary habit of eating plant based foods such as vegetables and fruits. Due to either religious or moral reasons vegetarians choose not to eat meat and meat products. Hinduism is one religion that prohibits the eating of meat however taking milk is considered to take the followers closer to spirituality (Dijkstra, 2008). On health grounds, vegetarians believe it’s the simplest and best ways of cutting down on consumption of fats since most of modern livestock are intentionally fatted in order to fetch more in the markets. According to the American Dietetic Association, vegetarianism is a nutritionally adequate and healthy, with numerous health benefits and treatment of certain diseases and disorders (Bryant, 2003). Those who exercise this dietary routine tend to have low cholesterol levels, lesser body mass index and blood pressure (Valsamis, 2009). Studies have shown there is a correlation between physical fitness; physical activity and risks of contacting cardiovascular disorders (Hoglund, Samuelson, &Mark 1998).They are also unlikely to experience heart diseases and related complications. People can also be forced to be vegetarians due to economic reasons. Generally, plant related foods are cheaper and readily available in a large variety. 5. Factors to consider when choosing food when shopping Availability of food in the nearby food stall is very important. Most of the time due to my busy lifestyle, I rarely plan a specific time to do shopping therefore I usually pass by the stalls on my journey from work or college. This means I will always pick items which are conveniently available in shops around where I stay. This limits me in some cases as some grocery stores stock frozen and only microwaveable foods. Sometimes I get fewer vegetables with unhealthy salty and fatty foods. However, I have now come to believe that with ample time I can plan my meals and this can help in improving my diet. I do not have any special diet. I am not vegetarian and my religion beliefs do not hinder me from practically going for any particular food stuff. 6. My living set-up As mentioned earlier I am student and at the same time I do some part time jobs. This means that I am fully occupied throughout my day. I therefore pick most of my meals from the fast foods outlets. This not only saves my time but also makes me get to multitask as I can work on my assignment at some of these eating points instead on preparing my own meals and creating time again for completing unfinished classwork. I live alone and thus I do not have a partner to help in preparing the meals with. I am therefore able to engage myself to activities up to late hours of the day. Food Frequency Questionnaire 7. Coverage of the questionnaire The questionnaire captured my eating habits in totality. It not only mentioned almost all my food items that make up my menu; but also gave me a chance to indicate the range and magnitude of frequency. The questions were well detailed; for instance milk was not just handled in general but rather in different forms in which it can be consumed. The questions were also open- ended ranging from zero (never) to various rates such as 1, 2 and so on serves. This not only makes it easy to answer but also it enables one to exhaustively answer a given phenomenon. The questionnaire also captured all my bio-data i.e. my age, race, place of birth, and Culture group that am associated with. The questionnaire on the other hand did not seek information concerning the respondents’ social and financial status which has a direct bearing on food habits. Questions regarding mineral supplements such as calcium, omega and zinc were not featured in the questionnaire. 8. Culture Culture plays an important part in determining food eating habits. However, there are cases where people from different cultures tend to adopt a similar lifestyle. Students, although they come from different cultural background tend to adopt similar eat habits as dictated by the surrounding environment. Religion as a culture defines eating habits, for instance there are those who practice religions that believe in vegetarianism. Financial background also may make people to have different eating habits to those of mine. Family setup may also affect; for instance a family with young children will tend to take foods that are healthy to the young ones and also avoid alcohol that could have adverse effect on the growing children (Valsamis.125). 9. If I was growing and preparing my own food From what I indicated on the questionnaires, my meals generally consist of wholegrain, vegetables and milk products. I always take eggs in my breakfast. If were in a position to farm, I would grow a variety of vegetables, which are easier to prepare. Instead of taking processed skimmed milk, I would keep my own cow for constant fresh milk supply. With this, I would be able to reduce my intake of processed dairy products and canned meat. This will help me in saving the extra money and also ensure that I will always consume fresh food. It would be easier for me to construct a fish pond for my daily fish consumption. 10. My dietary consumption versus the Australian Dietary Guidelines I usually consume 2-3 serves of vegetables and just 1 serve of fruits daily. Both diets fall short of the recommended dietary serves in Australia. Although fruits are rich in vitamin, I feel that I can get similar nutrients from energy drinks, fresh juices, and other beverages that I regularly consume daily. I believe vegetables are critical in provision of fiber necessary for proper digestion. I need to increase by ration of fruits and vegetables to fit the recommended levels. To meet recommendations, I should eat salad before every main meal and also adding vegetables in stew, soups and eggs. 11. Increasing Daily Average Fruits and Vegetables Increased Relevant health authorities should formulate policies that will seek to encourage healthy eating. The public through media should be educated on the nutritional value of various fruits and vegetables. Education authorities should incorporate this in school curriculum thus enabling people to develop a culture from their early age. For instance, advising people to always add fruits to baked foods, pancakes dessert and main dishes. People should also embrace the habit of eating vegetables and fruits instead of pies and starchy foods for snacks. Conclusion My eating habits are mostly influenced by personal reasons for instance the nature of activities that I engage in. My tight budget also in some way defines what I eat since higher food prices prevent me from purchasing healthier foods. Although religion plays a little part in my life, I refrain from eating pork due to religious beliefs. I believe that what I am currently eating does not define my habits in totality as I believe since my pattern can change if move to different life set-up. References Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1995. National Nutrition Survey: Foods Eaten, Australia. Canberra: AGPS. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1998. Mortality and Morbidity: Diabetes. Canberra: ABS, 4102.0 Bryant, C.A. et al, 2003. Introduction to Food and Society. 2nd ed. South Melbourne: Thomson Wadsworth. Commonwealth Department of Health and Aging, 2005. Food for Health. Dietary Guidelines for Australians. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. Dijkstra A.et al., 2008. Trans Fatty Acids. 2nd ed. Blackwell Hoglund, Samuelson, &Mark 1998. Food habits in relation to socioeconomic conditions. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition; 52: 784–9. Valsamis K, 2009. Food in Australia. In: Valsamis K. et al. Whole Food Book 2. Australia: Oxford University Press, p. 122-147. Read More