Healthy Eating Habits

More than half of adults in the United States are estimated to be overweight or obese (cite-hp pg 28). Obesity is a result of complex variety of social, behavioral, cultural, environmental, physiological and genetic factors (cite-hp pg 28). Efforts to develop healthy eating habits to maintain a healthy weight index should start early in childhood throughout teenage years to adulthood. Studies have shown the different eating habits according to gender and socioeconomic factors as well as, ways to enhance healthy eating habits and discourage poor eating habits. A nursing intervention that can be used to implement healthy eating habits in teenagers is to encourage awareness of health eating habits. I would use resourceful information and research to discourage unhealthy eating habits. Studies have shown the correlation between over eating and the time needed for eating, diversional activities while eating , cues that may lead to eating, differentiation on hunger versus the desire to eat, and the problem of eating during the nighttime.

Teenagers should understand the proper time that is needed for eating. Therefore, as a nurse it is important to know what is involved in the digestion process so that one is able to educate. (pubmed) explains that eating in a hurry can result in eating too much because satiety is not recognized until approximately 20 minutes from the time the food was ingested. I would educate the adolescent on the digestive process and explain the process of digestion that includes; ingestion, digestion, absorption and elimination. The North American Association for the study of obesity demonstrated that when people eat rapidly, more calories are consumed, the food is less appreciated and hunger occurs about an ho...

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...e a sense of what eating habits are beneficial to ones health and those that are not. The nurse may be a source for information, support and guidance but cannot change teenager’s eating habits. Resourceful information can be used to discourage unhealthy eating habits. Research has presented connections between over eating and the time needed for eating, diversional activities while eating, cues that may lead to eating, differentiation on hunger versus the desire to eat, and the problem of eating during the nighttime. Studies have also shown the significant differences in eating habits according to gender and socioeconomic factors such as ethnicity, income and education.

References

Wansink, B. (2004). Environmental Factors That Increase The Food Intake And Consumption Volume Of Unknowing Consumers. Annual Review of Nutrition,24(1), 455-479.