Psychological Factors Affecting Food Choices Influenced By Older People

This essay is going to describe how the society has an influence on food choice. Food is very important to the human body since it has the right nutrients for a balanced diet in order to enable good health and growth. However people depend on food, as people need food throughout, for the body to constantly work. However this essay is going to explore how food choice has influenced the internal and external factors that may actually have a little to do with the food itself, and in order to give a clear concept this essay will therefore explore the social factors of what one has to eat.

This information is very important for the health and social care profession, as individual tastes have to be taken into account when planning a person’s diet. More and more people are enjoying a diet with herbs and spices. This is partly due to our multicultural society and also because more people are travelling to other countries and tasting different types of food and drink. A person’s diet also needs to be tailored to their health requirements. For example, diabetics and some older people may need to exclude certain foods; likewise, a person’s religious belief may mean that halal meat is a requirement. Asking people about their food likes and dislikes, and what they can and cannot eat, is all part of considering and respecting their diversity.’

People’s ability to assess certain courses of action brings about two distinct paths: it either hinders the person’s ability to gauge their surroundings or it enables them to see and act based on a completely new perspective. It is our seemingly competent nature, as generalists, that has led to the rise of the phenomenon known as the “national eating disorder.” Skewing food culture and trend patterns, we have come to trust in our natural aptitude for survival as a way to pave our way through sustaining nourishment while coming into terms with the opportunity costs that accompany all of our decisions. There is something about food that grabs people; it is the individual tastes and textures, the unique stories of each and every ingredient that is used to make food, and the smell of spices that brings familiarity that

There are two theories on why we get hungry; these theories are called the Set or Settling Point theory, and the other is the Positive – Incentive theory. The Set or Settling theory differs a bit in the point of optimal weight (or fat/energy level) however the basic idea is the same. In this theory everyone has a set point (or an equilibrium) where the body is using the stored energy, and if the body is above this point then it does not become hungry if it is below the set point the body is lacking

4. It's important to meet these preference as the satisfaction of food comes from personal taste and many times there are rituals and cultural aspects involved in taking food that affects individual's mind setting. Asking people with dementia about

There are various types of nursing homes throughout the country . It is imperative to realize that when locating a secure living environment for the elderly ; the heart of the facility lies within the kitchen . According to a private foundation , " one study cited in the report found as many as 85 percent of the elderly living in some of the nation's more than 17,000 nursing homes are malnourished " (Commonwealth Fund , 2007 ) . In addition to an appropriate establishment , one should consider who prepares the meals and the quality of the food . When a senior enters the dining room for feeding time , the majority of the time a meal will not serve their best interest . For that reason , creating healthier menus for retirement homes will improve

In the last five years there has been a growth in the level of food insecurity among the aging population. In 2012 15.3% of the aging faced a threat of food insecurity. Further from 2001 to 2012 there was a 44% increase in the aging population experiencing hunger (Ziliak & Gundersen, 2013). In 2008 8.1% of households with an elderly individual living in the residence were food insecure, and 8.8% of the elderly living alone were food insecure (Coleman-Jenson, Nord, Andrews, & Carlson, 2009). After a dip in 2010 rates of food insecurity among the aging there was an increase in food insecurity among households with the elderly present and households of the elderly living alone (Coleman-Jenson, Nord, Andrews, & Carlson, 2011; Coleman-Jensen, Nord, & Singh; 2012, 2013). 2013 8.7% of households with elderly individuals were food insecure (Coleman-Jensen, Gregory, & Singh, 2014; Ziliak & Gundersen, 2014). Research has shown food insecurity leads to the reduction of nutritionally sufficient diets and poorer health status, thus this growth in food insecurity for the elderly is troubling as the elderly are already at risk for poor health outcomes (Lee & Frongillo, 2001; Stuff, et al., 2004).

I think the biggest factor when it comes to nutrition decisions is our upbringing. In my family, we weren’t educated about nutrition much I ate whatever

Food is the consequence of different cultures making their own ideas for how to make nutrition into a thing of enjoyment and pleasure rather than for survival. Basic nutrition is only something that humans require in order to survive and live another day. The kind of food that humans create is based on where they live, the vegetation and animals, and is only for basic nutrition and human survival. Foods, otherwise known as meals, are made by humans in which they customize it to their tasting. Humans create especially made meals that appeal to them and the people that they live with. The kinds of meals varies with the location that a human lives, and the farther apart the humans are from each other, the more different their food, along with their culture, will be.

Hunger: a feeling of discomfort or weakness caused by lack of food, coupled with the desire to eat. About 795 million people in the world do not have enough food to live a healthy life. When we think of hunger, most of us tend to think of third world countries or places on the other side of the world. Although there is a lot of hunger in those places, there is also a lot of hunger in our country and in our own town.

Hunger is a creation of God in the human life system. In His design of man, God made man with several components that form the various body systems according to biologists (Hockenbury and Sandra 63). It is a common occurrence to find people saying that they are hungry; their stomachs are empty and so forth. When the stomach is feeling this empty, the person wishes to have something to eat.

The United States is experiencing social issues related to food insecurity and hunger. Current research states that older adults are especially vulnerable to food insecurity. In a study published in the Journal of Urban Health states, “Among the 14.6% of American households experiencing food insecurity, approximately 2 million are occupied by older adults” (Chung, Gallo, Giunta, Canavan, Parikh, & Fahs, 2011, p. 1). Since the year 2011 the Athens Community Council on Aging reports, “Almost 9 million older adults in the United States are at risk for hunger, and Georgia is 8th in state rankings for older adult risk of hunger” (2014, p. 1). Fortunately, in North America, hunger seldom reaches extreme levels of starvation. Researchers’ instead look at food insecurity as a way to monitor needs in our society (North, 2001).

Throughout the last decade and into the current century the older population will continue expand in size and diversity. Individual older people differ greatly from one another in their nutrient requirements and need for nutrition services.

My family and friends are the factors on my food choices. I usually eat what my mom cooks at home or eat the same type of food my friends recommend. Growing up in an Asian household has a great impact in my food choices. Both of my parents take turn to go shopping for food, but my mom is the main person to cook in the house. I do not eat out often because my mom cooks every other day, therefore, I do not have a reason to not eat from home. She cooks enough for our family of four includes herself, my dad, my sister, and me. I grew up in Vietnam and came to America when I was nine years old, so I do prefer Asian food over American food. I rarely add any snack to my day because I do not feel hungry most of the time; sometimes I eat fruits such

Eating food is essential for all of us, it keep us alive and also gives us enjoyment at the same time. Food can be defined as any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue. (ilearn) In ancient time, when people feel hungry, they eat. However, as human history keep developing and evolving, we have a higher standard on choosing food that we like to eat nowadays. In this paper, we are going to evaluate factors that are influencing our food habits and food culture. Those factors can be divided into two main categories, internal factors (individual preference and values) and external factors (geographical, religion, social, economic and political).