In First World Countries, It Is Easy To Say That There

Shifts in the “Food Marketplace” have greatly affected our food choices and habits in the last 40-50 years. As one woman stated in the film The Weight of the Nation, “It’s so hard to combat with what the tv is telling you to feed your kids”. Advertising has come to a whole new level in our generation; you can’t turn on the television without seeing an advertisement for fast food or something equally as unhealthy. As another woman put it, “you are taught that you can eat anywhere, anytime of day, and that eating is a glorious thing”. Another shift that has occurred is an economic one. If you go into a poor neighborhood corner store like they did in the film, you would see chips, sugar, sweets, etc. All of these unhealthy foods are cheap, incredibly cheaper than fresh fruits and vegetables. Obesity rates in these poor areas are much higher than in areas with a higher average income. Culturally, our country is changing to one that is always moving; we don’t have time to prepare a meal for the whole family. It’s much quicker to buy unhealthy fast food that you know your family will enjoy than to prepare a healthy meal that they will grudgingly consume. The film mentioned that our bodies were originally built for scarcity. We are wired to react to things that are sweet and contain a lot of fat because when an animal was killed we had to be able to eat as much of it as possible. The signals telling us to stop eating had to be overridden. Now, we consume so much fat and sugar not

The world’s dietary functionality differs from region to region, but a consensus remains constant; americans have an unfulfilling diet overall. In other countries the have their diet scheduled for three structured meals for each day, whereas americans eat whenever their minds tell them that they are hungry. The problem with the american way is when americans eat, they eat food that is filling to the brain but not to the stomach. Americans are always on the run, therefore there is not sufficient time to prepare a structured meals; instead americans rely on fast food. This method of nourishment comes with its own set of issues, food is of a lower quality than that of a home-cooked meal. Along with that comes poor beverage quality instituted

As a culture and as individuals, we no longer seem to know what we should and should not eat. When the old guides of culture and national cuisine and our mothers’ advice no longer seem to operate, the omnivore’s dilemma returns and you find yourself where we do today—utterly bewildered and conflicted about one of the most basic questions of human life: What should I eat? We’re buffeted by contradictory dietary advice: cut down on fats one decade, cut down on carbs the next. Every day’s newspaper brings news of another ideal diet, wonder-nutrient, or poison in the food chain. Hydrogenated vegetable oils go from being the modern alternatives to butter to a public health threat, just like that. Food marketers bombard us with messages that this or that food is “heart healthy” or is “part of a nutritious meal”. Without a stable culture of food to guide us, the omnivore’s dilemma has returned with a vengeance. We listen to scientists, to government guidelines, to package labels—to anything but our common sense and traditions. The most pleasurable of activities—eating—has become heavy with anxiety. The irony is, the more we worry about what we eat, the less healthy and fatter we seem to become.

Proper nutrition is important in maintaining a long and healthy life. Most Americans are rushed due to their busy work schedules, and do not take the time to plan their diets properly. Like me, most Americans are unaware of the importance of eating a healthy diet and consume too many foods without the proper nutrients. Throughout my life I have been fortunate. I have not had any major health problems, and have been able to consume most foods without having to worry about gaining weight. These last two years, however, I started to gain weight and have become concerned with my diet. Changing my poor eating habits has been difficult for me, however, having this assignment has taught me that it is not as difficult as I previously

Improving the health conditions of the American population ensures the increased quality of life. People eat for various reasons with the fundamental reason being for survival purposes. However, the issue of eating to live and living to eat affects people in different manners as most people develop poor eating habits that affect the body’s nutritional intake and affects their health. Being healthy involves careful considerations of what one is eating and engaging in activities that contribute to better healthy lives that do not imply daily prescriptions or

Today in the Western Hemisphere, many chronic health problems result from bad eating habits. There are a mix of people who are over-nourished, malnourished, or both. We eat chemically altered, high-fat toxic foods that do not provide a sufficient amount of essential vitamins and

As populations become more urban and incomes rise, diets high in sugar, fat and animal products replace more traditional diets that were high in complex carbohydrates and fibre. Ethnic cuisine and unique traditional food habits are being replaced by westernized fast foods, soft drinks and increased meat consumption (Drewnowski, 2000). Homogenization and westernization of the global diet has increased the energy density and this is particularly a problem for the poor in all

“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Michael Pollan, one of Time magazine’s top 100 Most Influential People in 2010 and author of “Escape from the Western Diet”, proposes these three rules to live a healthier life. Pollan strongly believes that the Western diet is responsible for Western Diseases. Throughout the excerpt, he explains how the epidemic of obesity is caused by the business of food and medical industries, the degree of food that is processed, and how much time and effort is put into developing a well-balanced diet.

The book “In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto”, by Michael Pollan, is one of the most informative and shocking books I have ever read. This book has three different parts, each discussing the different impacts the food we eat has on us. These different parts are as follows: part I, “The Age of Nutritionism,” part II, "The Western Diet and the Diseases of Civilization," and part III, "Getting Over Nutritionism." Throughout this book the author stresses how important food is to our everyday lives.

We’ve been told in the earlier years by nutritionists that some food are more healthy than others, but only to be overturned by later studies. Pollan feels that this orthodoxy is very contradicting as Americans have been assured about how having a low diet helps prevent health issues, but only to be revealed by even more professionals that these foods actually have harmful effects on health, “Sooner or later, everything solid we’ve been told about the links between our diet and our health seems to get blown away in the gust of the most recent study” (Pollan). They have been told that these foods are of no harm, yet to only acquire health issues such as obesity later in their lives. For instance, my friends tried to only eat foods that affirm a low diet, however, it has barely done anything to their health and weight. Surprisingly, these supposedly “low-diet” foods doesn’t provide the vitamins enough for the body to function properly (Miller). It has been said that low diet foods makes people want to eat more than usual because these foods are mostly served in smaller portions that make people think that they are eating

Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma and a recent documentary Food, Inc. reveal how the modern day food system actually works. We then come to realize that obesity isn’t caused by laziness; it is caused by the modernization of our country (How Michael Pollan Made Me Want to Eat Cheetos). In Food, Inc., a farmer states “If we put glass walls on all the mega food systems, we would have a different food system.” In other words, consumers have really no idea how their food is produced or even what goes in their everyday meals. This transformation has altered how we produce and distribute food, which has affected the fundamental health of both people and the planet we live on. Stereotypically, obesity is affected to those who exercise less and eat more. However, it is a struggle to define obesity because it is more than that. Obesity is a “disease which is caused by the modernization of the food industry (How Michael Pollan Made Me Want to Eat Cheetos). In the new food industry, cooking is not required. Today, frozen and canned foods make it easy to have a quick dinner. However, many people forget that these canned and frozen foods have an extremely high amount of preservatives, fats, sugars, and sodium (How Michael Pollan Made Me Want to Eat Cheetos). The modernization also allows for longer periods of “TV watching, longer drives to and from work, supermarket product placement… and even clothing designers

Many individuals do not recognize the elements of food they consume, whether they’re healthy or unhealthy. In America, we are surrounded by supermarkets and restaurants who sell good and bad foods, which are hard to avoid. We develop cravings such as foods that contain high sugar and fat. This leads to chronic health issues. Whole foods are converted to processed foods, deceiving a person trying to follow a diet. Some believe that we can eat anything and our bodies will filter it out naturally despite what we see in public and hear in the news. According to my independent research, eating all types of food and thinking it will allow our body to figure out what should properly be digested is a strong risk to take.

If one continually eats unhealthy foods, they can quickly become overweight. Moreover, this has become such a recurring problem in America that according to the National Institutes of Health, compulsive eating has led to obesity for approximately 35.7% of Americans. This number represents over one-third of the entire U.S population and will continue to grow unless it is addressed. In addition, it is critical that Americans learn to moderate their junk food intake to prevent the contraction of serious health issues. Sweenie states that, “Food high in salt, sugar, fat or calories and low nutrient content...provide suboptimal nutrition with excessive fat, sugar, or sodium per kcal. Such poor diets can slow growth, promote obesity; sow the seeds of diseases like diabetes, hypertension, cardiac problems, and osteoporosis.” These are exceptionally serious diseases that can often result in a severely hindered lifestyle or even death. In order to avoid these exceptionally undesirable outcomes, one must always remain aware of their daily junk food consumption. In Kirkey’s article, Paul Kenny, an associate professor at the Scripps Research Institute in Florida, states that, "It's incumbent upon people to make sure that they're more respectful and aware of what they're eating. Just be aware that there are dangers and risks associated. Enjoy (high-fat) food, but make sure it's occasionally and

Mental health problems are believed to be the result of a combination of factors, including age, genetics and environmental factors. One of the most obvious, yet under-recognized factors in the development of major trends in mental health is the role of nutrition.(Associate Parliamentary & Health, 2008). Recent evidence suggests that good nutrition is essential for our mental health and that a number of mental health conditions may be influenced by dietary factors.. The body of evidence linking both diet and mental health is growing at a rapid pace ( Associate Parliamentary & Health, 2008). Recently, there have been a number of published studies identifying an inverse association between diet quality and the common mental disorders, namely depression and anxiety, in adults (Bellisle, 2004). Other prospective studies suggest that diet quality influences the risk for depressive illness in adults over time. The evidence indicates that food plays a contributing role in the development, management and prevention of specific mental health problems such as depression, schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and Alzheimer’s disease ( Associate Parliamentary & Health, 2008).

Food is not as simple as it seems. Once Anthelme Brillat-Savarin wrote “Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are”. We, as human been should pay attention to what we eat because it will be reflected in the future. A lot of times we know if someone eats healthy by just seeing them, because physically they do not have a good body, healthy skin, or something like that. As we already said more than 50% of USA’s population eats fast food for many reasons: economy, quick service, etc., but the real problem come when we consider health. If People should care more about what they eat and try to avoid fast food, then they will have less possibility of diseases like high cholesterol, obesity, or cardiovascular issues and heart diseases.