Question

1. There are many social and cultural influences on dietary choices.   Pick a single social or cultural influence and write a well-organized essay about the ways that will impact dietary choices in the selection of protein, carbohydrate, fat, and vitamin/mineral sources. Choose one topic: Examples include, but are not limited to:
   • How a particular religious belief affects diet choices
   • How the prevalence and low cost of fast food influences Americans,
   • How marketing of processed foods, but not unprocessed foods affects food decisions
   • or how highly environmentally conscious individuals will choose foods differently.

Answer 1

Physical determinants such as access, education, skills (e.g. cooking) and time. Socialdeterminants such as culture, family, peers and meal patterns. Psychological determinants such as mood, stress and guilt. Attitudes, beliefs and knowledge about food.

cultural influence-

Food habits are one of the most complex aspects of human behavior, being determined by multiple motives and directed and controlled by multiple stimuli. Food acceptance is a complex reaction influenced by biochemical, physiological, psychological, social and educational factors. Metabolic conditions play an important role. Age, sex and mental state are factors of importance. People differ greatly in their sensory response to foods. The likes and dislikes of the individual with respect to food move in a framework of race, tradition, economic status and environmental conditions.

Examples of dietary preferences according to some cultural and religious beliefs

African American -

• Diet varies greatly according to region of country and lifestyle.
• They have high incidence of lactose intolerance low consumption of dairy products.
• Most popular meat dishes include pork,fish, small game, and poultry.
• Frying and boiling are the most common preparation methods.
• Primary grain product is corn.
• Honey, molasses, and sugar products are preferred as snacks.

Asian

• High incidence of lactose intolerance traditional alternative sources of calcium include tofu, soy milk, small bones in fish and poultry.
• A variety of protein rich foods are often preserved by salting and drying.
• Make Pastes of shrimp and legumes.
• Wheat and rice are primary grain products.
• Fresh fruits and vegetables, also pickled, dried or preserved.

Buddhism

• Vegetarianism with five pungent foods excluded: garlic, leek, scallion, chives, and onion.

Hinduism

• Mostly vegetarian except in northern India where meat is consumed(except beef)

Islam

• No consumption of unclean foods
• No consumption of animals slaughtered without pronouncing the name of Allah or killed in manner that prohibits the complete draining of blood from their bodies.
• No consumption of carnivorous animals with fangs, birds of petty, and land animals without ears.

Social influences on eating-

Eating behaviour is strongly influenced by social context. We eat differently when we are with other people compared with when we eat alone. Our dietary choices also tend to converge with those of our close social connections. One reason for this is that conforming to the behaviour of others is adaptive and we find it rewarding. Norms of appropriate eating are set by the behaviour of other people, but also shared cultural expectations and environmental cues. We are more likely to follow an eating norm if it is perceived to be relevant based on social comparison. Relevant norms are set by similar others and those with whom we identify.

Moderators of social influence on eating-

Women scoring low in impulsivity modelled intake in a naturalistic eating situation but no modelling was observed for women scoring high on impulsivity. On the other hand, individuals low in self-control were more likely to follow perceived peer eating norms.These results appear contradictory, but the study methods differed in a number of ways making them difficult to compare. It is also possible that unmeasured variables that are correlated with impulsivity account for the results, such as concern with behaving in a socially appropriate manner, which has been shown to enhance social influence on eating.

Mediators of social influence on eating-

How people adjust their own eating to fit in with perceived norms has received recent attention. In a situation where the behaviour of another person communicates the norm, we may track their consumption and adjust our own intake accordingly.Other evidence points to behavioural mimicry processes that facilitate modelling. In some studies, participants report being unaware of social influence despite evidence to the contrary .whereas others have found that participants report social influence accurately. It may be that modelling involves both monitoring of intake and behavioural synchrony , both of which may be open to verbal report depending on how awareness of social influence is assessed.

The Factors That Influence Our Food Choices

• Biological determinants such as hunger, appetite, and taste.
• Economic determinants such as cost, income, availability.
• Physical determinants such as access, education, skills (e.g. cooking) and time.
• Social determinants such as culture, family, peers and meal patterns.

Muslims eat halal (lawful) foods, which include fruit, vegetables and eggs. Haram (prohibited) foods include pork, crustaceans, blood, non-halal animal-derived additives such as gelatin or suet, alcohol and any foods containing alcohol as an ingredient.

Devout Hindus believe that all of God's creatures are worthy of respect and compassion, regardless of whether they are humans or animals. Therefore, Hinduism encourages being vegetarian and avoiding the eating of any animal meat or flesh. Like Buddhists, Hindus believe that food affects both body and mind.

Especially because “meat,” dairy, and eggs are the main ingredients in fast food, the exponential increase in its consumption has engendered a wide range of negative social impacts—including rapidly rising rates of diet-related disease, worker exploitation, systemic animal abuse, and environmental degradation.

Consumption of fast food is common in the United States and many other industrialized countries, and it has been increasing steadily in some developing countries as well owing to factors such as its convenience, low cost, consistent taste, easy access through a variety of restaurant chains, and the FF industry's marketing effort. A 2013 survey showed that about half of Americans reported eating at FF restaurants at least weekly

and 80% of adults went to FF restaurants at least once per month. FF is one of the major components of Americans’ diet, as about 11% of their calories are derived from fast food consumption (FFC) among adults.

FF is often made with ingredients such as high-fat meat, refined grains, and added sugar and fats and is high in sodium, saturated fat, and cholesterol, which are harmful to health.FF often contributes to higher energy intake compared with traditional food items. Multiple studies have found that frequent FFC is associated with elevated BMI and cholesterol, and increased risk for obesity, hypertension, and diabetes.As obesity is becoming a global public health crisis and has resulted in high health and economic costs, researchers have recommended avoiding frequent FFC.

Although some FF industries have altered their menus to include healthier options (e.g., whole-wheat buns, low-fat milk, grilled chicken nuggets), their aggressive FF marketing via television, mobile devices, and social media promotes liking of FF, but not specifically healthier FF choices.Research suggests that heavy television viewing might lead to less negative and more positive beliefs about FF's health consequences.Compared with adults, children are more susceptible to frequent FFC owing to peer influence and impulsive actions. Also, subgroups of American adults who have the highest percentage of total energy intake from FF include young adults (16%), non-Hispanic blacks (15%), and obese individuals (13%) (5). Young non-Hispanic blacks have the greatest intake from FF, contributing 21% of their total energy intake.

Unprocessed foods include the natural edible food parts of plants and animals. Minimally processed foods have been slightly altered for the main purpose of preservation but which does not substantially change the nutritional content of the food.Unprocessed or minimally processed foods: Think vegetables, grains, legumes, fruits, nuts, meats, seafood, herbs, spices, garlic, eggs and milk. Make these real, whole foods the basis of your diet.

Things That Happen to Your Body When You Stop Eating Processed Food not only will you lose weight faster, age slower, get less headaches and have better hair, skin and brain function, among others, you will actually start to hate processed foods.

The Lancet, found the vegan diet is best when it comes to lowering greenhouse gas emissions, followed by vegetarian, pescatarian, and flexitarian diets.

Eating locally grown foods is possibly the best way to lower your carbon footprint when it comes to what you eat. Bonus: Eating locally means that food will be fresher and therefore taste better and perhaps retain more nutrients than food shipped across the globe.

beef and lamb have the highest carbon footprint, followed by chicken, pork and fish, so consider leaning towards those animals for your meat fix. Nothing beats an organic, free-range chook and, once you've tasted one, you will never go back.

Reuse it
Bring a reusable bag on your next shopping trip, and you’ve already helped out the planet. The United States alone uses about 100 billion new plastic bags each year, and this massive production costs 12 million barrels of oil. Worldwide, only about 1 percent of plastic bags are recycled which means that the rest end up in landfills, oceans, or elsewhere in the environment. There are several reasons: Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, but light exposure can degrade them enough to release toxic polymer particles most of which end up in the ocean. Approximately one million birds and 100,000 turtles and other sea animals die of starvation each year after ingesting discarded plastics and other trash debris, which block their digestive tracks. And public agencies spend millions of dollars on litter clean-up each year.

2. Strip down.
Look for products with minimum packaging.Excess packaging is often made out of unsustainable materials and contributes to waste that ends up in landfills. Perhaps the worst culprit is polystyrene which is a suspected carcinogen and is manufactured through an energy-intensive process that creates hazardous waste and greenhouse gasesTrusted Source. And be mindful of home goods, too! Companies like Patagonia and Everlane are now joined by plucky sustainability first businesses like Loomy, Buffy, and Parachute.

3. Don’t buy the bottle.
Millions of tons of plastic are used to produce billions of plastic water bottles each year.Save money and lessen waste by drinking tap water from a reusable water bottle. Try a water filter, or take courage from the fact that a lot of bottled water is likely no better than what’s on tap.

4. Shop different.
Choose to give your money to stores that demonstrate care for the planet, both in their company practices and in the food selections they provide. Look for a selection of local and organic foods as well as store practices that limit waste.

5. Go local.
Eating locally grown and processed foods is possibly the best way to lower your carbon footprint when it comes to what you eat. Bonus.Eating locally means that food will be fresher and therefore taste better and perhaps retain more nutrients than food shipped across the globe.

Eat more of it.
Eat more produce than any other food category, and you’ve already made an impact for the planet.

7. Go organic.
The definition of organic can be a little confusing, but food labels can help. Certified organic foods are grown and processed using farming methods that recycle resources and promote biodiversity and without the use of synthetic pesticides, bioengineered genes, and petroleum- or sewage-sludge-based fertilizers.Though their benefits to the environment have a long-term payoff, organic foods can be pricier if you’re on a budget, find out which foods are most worth buying organic, and limit your organic purchases to the ones that make the biggest impact.

8. Eat it raw.
Chomp down on a raw carrot instead of boiling or sautéing it, and save energy that would otherwise have been used to power cooking appliances.

9. Eat in season.
Seasonal nomming allows you to eat locally and we’ve already covered how important local purchasing is for the environment.

10. Preserve it.
Learn how to preserve fruits and vegetables so you can eat locally grown produce all year long.