Factors That Influence My Eating Habits

Based on a 24 Hour Recall of my diet, results using NutriCalc Plus report that my food intake lacked a healthy balance of all food groups. My Grain intake reached only 60% of the My Plate daily recommendations. My Vegetable intake was a mere 50% of the recommended servings. Additionally, I consumed 84% of the daily recommendations for the Dairy Group. Nonetheless, I did exceed the recommendations for the Fruit Group and Protein Group with intakes of 155% and 107%, respectively.

My diet in comparison to the Canadian Food Guide, was noticeably inconsistent with the recommended number of servings per day. I was unable to meet the recommended serving for all of the the food groups. Out of all the groups milk and meat alternatives serving were the lowest. Furthermore, there was a lack of variety within the diet, over the course of three days the meals tended to be the same . It can be argued that portions sizes were relatively small. Although some days there was an adequate amount of vegetables & fruits, there was inadequate average intake overall.

Food not only acts as a necessity of life, but it also provides a way for people to bond and display their culture. People’s food habits act as a way for them to identify themselves. Food habits refer to the reasons why people eat, their methods of eating, the form of food they eat, and the way they get, store, and get rid of food (Rodriguez, 2002). Several factors influence people’s food habits and culture. Some of these factors include a person’s budget, health, and religion. Other factors such as age, gender, and social and cultural backgrounds determine people’s food habits. People buy what they can afford. Some people have the desire to eat in a healthier way, but they are not able to do this because they cannot afford healthy food. Junk food tends to be more readily available and consequently cheaper to buy than healthy food. People with low incomes find it hard to eat at restaurants, and they find it more economical to make their own meals. Food availability also determines people’s food habits. People tend to eat what they can find easily. Rare foods tend to be more expensive, and people avoid this. Foods in season are cheaper. This makes a person’s food habit seasonal and flexible, yet homogenous enough to define a person’s identity (Bellisle, 2012).

Canada’s Food Guide’s main strengths are its ease of use, scientific foundation, and its frequency of updates. Its weaknesses lie in the fact that simply consuming an adequate number of servings from each food group does not necessarily guarantee that an adequate amount of every nutrient will be obtained (in accordance with the DRI). Additionally, the difficulty of breaking down combination meals and the lack of information on serving sizes at restaurants may make it difficult to estimate how many servings of the various food groups are obtained.

c) Unfortunately, I have not met the recommended intake by eaTRackers standard for any of the food groups making my diet inadequate. For fruits and veggies I could have had one more in order to meet the standard, I could include a cup of raw zucchini to sprinkle with my salad. For the grain products, I can consume 2.15 cups of rice. I was close to the recommended servings for the diary and alternative if I add 0.5 cup of milk I would meet my standard. For the meat and alternatives I would need 1.2 servings to reach the standard, however as this is difficult to measure out I will go to 1.5 servings (I primarily get my protein from

Most of the time I am out of control on my eating. I eat the food that I think is more benefit to me, but really it is not. Since I can journal analysis as a guideline of helping me which kind of food I can eat, I will use it to keep on tract what, why, when I can eat. I will keep on continue to go to the gym daily.

According to my family’s weekly grocery plan, the food consumption all 4 food categories is quite approximate to the recommended amount by Canada’s Food Guide (except grain products). The sample size is too small for me to make a conclusion about my overall long-term food habit.

Each one of our bodies relies on food (and the nutrients contained in food) not only for basic bodily functions and mustering enough energy to get through the day, but for establishing our eating behaviors which have long-lasting effects on our physical and mental well-being. Establishing Credibility: While my extensive background in the health sciences is useful for defining, understanding, and analyzing the various processes involved in food consumption, my personal relationship with food has left a lasting impact on my passion to inspire and educate others on why such a simple meal is so essential. For the past 6 years, I have struggled with disordered eating behaviors. It wasn't until this past year that I realized when and how this cycle came to be - and unfortunately, it all began with skipping breakfast.

I went over the amount of calories I should have used. My average calories a day was 2068. My empty calories were also over with an average of 483 eaten each day. My report showed I was over in the protein group, but under in the seafood I should have eaten. I was under in the dairy group and also under in the vegetable category. The report showed that I was over in the refined grains and under in the whole grains. I was over in the fruits category also. In the grains food group I averaged 4.5 ounces a day all from refined grains. The vegetable category shows I averaged only 2 cups a day, with no dark green vegetables. I averaged 5 cups of red or orange, 2 cups of beans and peas, 1.5 cups of starchy vegetables, and 4 cups of other vegetables daily. I was over in the fruit group with 2.75 cups of fruit, no fruit juice. I actually did not consume any dairy products. I was over in the protein department with 8 ounces with only 3 ounces of seafood. I was 1 teaspoon over in the oil department. (United States Department of Agriculture)

After reviewing my report that compared my actual intake nutrients to my recommended intake, I learned that I am like most Americans; I do not eat IAW the Food Guidance system. In accordance with chapter four most adults in the “United States consume well over the average of the minimum DRI.” My Diet Analysis recommended a carbohydrate daily intake of 248 grams well over the recommended daily serving of 130 grams for adult and children. My actual intake of carbohydrates was 261 grams averaged over seven days. After reviewing my averaged carbohydrate intake, I decided to review the carbohydrate intake for each individual day to see if I was above or below the recommended 130 grams daily serving. I learned that I was never below the recommended daily amount, however; I was

Developing these habits can be hard to break as explained by the individuals used in this study. These habits of always relying on eating out can lead to sign of heart disease and obesity. The obesity is at an all time high in the United States.The surroundings in a college life style are set up to learn to live and support your self. Supporting your self and while working on school work can be very time consuming causing you to rely on eating out

The recommended dietary guideline is (as shown below) 5 grain servings, 2.5 meat servings, 5 vegetable servings, 2 fruit servings, and 3.5 dairy servings. My diet (as shown below) is composed of 5 grain servings, 2.5 meat servings, 3 vegetable servings, fruit servings, and 2 dairy servings. My diet is composed of more grains, meat, and fresh fruit and less vegetables and dairy. The strengths of my diet is plenty of protein, fresh fruits, but the weaknesses of my diet is too much grains, not enough vegetables or dairy products which contains much needed calcium. My diet is reasonably close to the guidelines but can be improved. Your food intake is very important as it impacts your health and your future health.

Dietary intakes of subjects were assessed, by filling valid 168-items food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), performed by an expert Nutritionist [26, 27]. This questionnaire includes general food items and portion sizes of usual foods taken, typically. Frequency of food taken by each participant was determined, during the past 12 months as daily, weekly and monthly intake. Therefore, the daily intake of food items was converted to gram per day by amount of usual portions [28]. Also, with regards to the content of eaten food, total amount of micronutrients and macronutrients was calculated by nutrition analysis software (N4).

Breakfast is important because of what it provides in the long run. By avoiding breakfast, it causes an increased boost in “hunger hormones”. This leads to overeating at the next meal, which then causes spikes and dips in glucose. Fluctuating glucose leads to an increased risk of type two diabetes. The risk of type 2 diabetes can also be increased by consuming too many carbohydrates.

This article compares the times of day and purging habits to see if there is a correlation between the two. The study was conducted over a 4 month time period, then at the end of the four months subjects where required to follow up with and eating disorder examination. The results showed that those who ate in the evenings had a decrease in binge eating and purging. This article was beautifully written and contained plenty of research to back their findings.