Table of Contents
Unhealthy eating habits often develop at a very young age. Parenting methods like reinforcement, exposure to processed food, peer pressure, stress management and convenience of fast food together contribute to unhealthy eating habits.
Adding to these factors, persuasive advertisements promoting unhealthy eatables easily grab the attention of viewers. Young children especially tend to like these food items not just because of the taste but also because of the visually attractive advertisements.
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The growing varieties of food items and restaurant outlets increases people’s gravitation towards unhealthy foods.
The Role of Childhood Experiences in Shaping Eating Behaviors
Childhood is the age where our desires, personality, preferences and requirements get shaped. Tender age is easy to influence and is the best time to be exposed to right choices. If the exposure is not right then it will lead to undesirable behavior.
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The same way when our childhood exposure to food items is unhealthy, then that will be the kind of food that we prefer to eat.
Some of the factors that influence our eating habits include:
- Parents and their rewards: As a child we all would have experienced this. Whenever we abide by our parent’s rules we were given chocolates, ice-creams, crisps and other unhealthy kinds of foods as a reward. This act of being rewarded will automatically develop a psychological attraction towards the foods, as they evoke the same sense of achievement they did when we were younger, hence it resonates with happiness which gets carried forward for life time.
- Parents as role model: Our development is mostly based on our parents. When we see them munching on junk food children will have a craving for it. We would love a taste of it which could be our first exposure.
- Culture and tradition: Geography and dietary staples go hand in hand. In Italian culture cheese and flour are staple, likewise in Indian foods include a wide range of grains, vegetables, spices etc. French culture is mostly pastry and Chinese mostly consume noodles, soup and red meat. This diversity of diet constitutes one’s eating behavior. Some cultures majorly eat fat, another culture might include carbohydrates over other nutrition’s. Factors like, climate, availability of ingredients, access to resources etc., are major contributors in drafting one’s diet.
- Accessibility and availability: For a child what is at home will be their first preference. If the food at home is junk, then that would be the child’s diet, if it is the other way around the child will prefer healthy food over junk. A teen growing up alone will have better accessibility to fast foods, intending to save time and money gravitating them to majorly consume fast food.
- Impact of Advertising and Media: The kinds of food they advertise will first visually attract us. The colourful pop, appetizing packaging, appealing flavour will make us want that food despite the nutrition values.
Emotional Connection and comfort food
Of the basic needs of a human, food is the primary requirement. It is not just because food gives physical energy but also because of the emotional resonance.
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- Nostalgic reasons: When we see our favorite childhood favorite out on a supermarket display, we all will go back to our childhood. Without questions we will buy them, not considering the nutritional values.
- Association with celebration: Our success always calls for a treat. Treats include indulgent food items. Over time we associate such food items with happiness and when we lack happiness we seek for it through unhealthy foods.
- To handle stress: Eating disorders like overeating or Binge-eating are rooted from these methods of handling stress. Food kinds with high calories or sugar will increase the hormone dopamine in our body, which reduces stress and makes us feel better immediately.
- Boredom and mindless eating: When we have nothing to do or we keep ourselves inactive for long, our dopamine secretion falls. This low makes us want to engage in something and the most practicable activity is eating. And the most accessible food group is junk. This leads to junk food addiction
How to Overcome unhealthy eating and how to adopt healthy food habits
Overcoming unhealthy eating habits might sound hard at first, but gradually our body will accept the food.
- Trying a variety of food: Nutrition doctor says that cravings might be a cause of lack of nutrients. For example our body craves sweets when we lack chromium, a mineral in our body. Doctors suggest instead of eating cakes or sweets we can switch to fruits.
- Hydration: Our body sometimes mistakes thirst for hunger. Hence checking our hydration level will help to distinguish craving and thirst.
- Stress management: Some people consume junk food as a coping strategy. Instead under stress, trying meditation, breathing techniques or venting out will keep both our body and mind healthy.
Conclusion
Unhealthy eating might not be an issue only when it is controlled. Treating yourself once in a while scientifically helps your physical and mental health and helps in sustaining this habit. Throughout a period of time your body listens to your mind. Likewise respecting your body’s demands once in a while helps its functioning.
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However, addiction to such food items affects our health. “Too much of medicine is poison”. True to this statement both healthy and unhealthy food must be within limits. Healthy food has fewer limits than unhealthy food. If we stay within the limits our body and mind will be healthier.
