Eating Habits

Eating habbits Junk food, keeping fit. In today’s fast-moving world, people have less and less time to spend eating. It is probably for this reason that junk food has become so popular, and there’s no doubt that it’s here to stay. In fact, it seems that you simply can’t get away from it. Obviously, a diet of junk food is not the best thing for your health, particularly as it is high in saturated fat. This type of fat is associated with great risk of cancer. Apart from the risk of cancer, another side effect of consuming highly fattering food is that you are likely to gain weight. This is especially true because you tend to eat more, as junk food is less satisfying and lower in vital nutrients than healthier food. The best advice, for those who cannot live without it, is to limit the amount junk foodthey eat/ A little now and then will probably do no harm. Young people pick up the idea that speed means excitement, whereas anything traditional is slow and boring. As a result, they turn down traditional food and go for junk food instead. Another alarming thing is that while the amount of junk food we eat has increased, the amount of exercise we do has actually decreased. Exercises help to control our weight and if taken regulary, can also decrease our having a heart attack in later life. What is more you don’t have to exercise much to gain vasible benefits, twenty minutes three times a week is all that is necessary. People nowadays are actually far more aware of the importance of exercise and healthy diet than they were a few years ago. Rcent reserch has shown that young people, who prefer burgers and chips to rich gourmet dishes, tend to become overweight. Reserchers suggest that the new genration will be much more likely to suffer from heart and liver desease. What can’t be emphasised enough is fact that a balanced diet and regular exrcise bring significant health benefits. You can gain anything from glowing skin to an allround feeling of good health. One way or another, the vast majority of people seem to be missing out on this, due mainly to the pressures of modern life. Ironically, if they were to make time to exercise and improve their eating habbits, they would probably find that they were far better equipped to deal with their stressful lifestiles than they are now. Vegan leaving. A large number of people do not eat meat. Vegans have taken this a step further by refusing to consume or use anything that comes from animals. This means that not only they do not eat meat; they do not eat fish, poultry or dairy products either. Although a vegan diet may be strict, there are certain advanteges to be gained. Firstly, because a vegan diet is low in fat and cholestrol, the risk of heart disease is reduced. Secondly, there is less preassure on farmers to keep animals under cruel conditions to produce milk, eggs and poultry. On the other hand, humans are natural meat eaters and some essential ingridients in our diet can only come from animal products. For example, we cannot get enough vitamin B12 from plants, so vegans have to take this vatamin, made from yeast, as a supplement to their diet. Moreover, the human digestive system cannot digest certain plant proteins, and this can lead to stomach problems. Although there are some disadvanteges to adopting such a strict diet, people feel that overhall; it is a healthier way of life. Furthermore, it is cruel to kill animals for food and if everybody adopted a vegan diet, our whole outlook on life would change for the better. Factors that influence on food choices Food choices are influenced by many factors, age, gender, friends, family, cultural background and where we live. Although the main purpose of food is to nourish the body, food means far more than that to many people. It can represent much of who and what we are. People bond and foster relationships around the dinner table and at celebrations with special meals and foods, such as birthday cake. Some people express their creative side by serving dinner guests, as well as expressing their awareness and appreciation for others. Some people also use food to help them cope with stress by overeating or depriving themselves. Food may also be used as a reward for accomplishing a specific goal. Consequently, what people eat can reveal much about who they are socially, politically and religiously. Factors influencing food preferences include: Taste, *texture* *and* *appearance*. Economics – The cost of food affects what we eat. Our early experiences with food – Food preferences begin early in life and change as we are exposed to new people and places. As children, our choices were in the hands of our parents. However, as we get older, our experiences with new people and places increase, thereby broadening our food preferences and choices. Habits – Most of what we eat from a particular core group of foods. About one hundred items account for 75 percent of the foods most people eat. Having a narrow range of food choices provides us with security. For example, going to a particular fast-food restaurant provides common expectations and experiences. Many people also have the cooking habits of our mothers or grandmothers. Culture – Religious rules can affect food choices. For example, Hindus do not eat beef, and some Jewish people do not eat pork. The region that people are from can also affect eating behaviors. Swedish people would not eat an ear of corn, because it is considered food for hogs. In Russia, we don't normally eat insects, but many other cultures regard them as preferred foods. Culture can also dictate the times to eat and what to eat at certain meals. Advertising – To capture the interest of the consumer, food producers spend billions of dollars each year on advertising and packaging, both for food bought in grocery stores and restaurants. The power of persuasion is very strong, and so food producers and restaurants try to make their products as appealing as possible to consumers, even if that means making false claims. Social factors – Social changes have a big effect on the food industry. Our fast-paced society demands drive-through restaurants. Gas stations now have convenience stores and restaurants attached to them, so people can do one-stop shopping. Malls also cater to their customers with food courts offering a wide variety of foods. My own eating habbits