Eating Habits Essay

This review of literature will explore the different factors that influence the eating habits one develops over their lifetime. In particular, this review will focus on the influences that affect the eating habits of college students. Eating habits can be defined as the habitual decisions a person makes when deciding which foods to eat. It may also refer to why people make the decisions to eat the foods that they eat. Even though, a healthy diet is ideal, many college students do not maintain a healthy diet. A healthy diet refers to a diet that has the proper amounts of vitamins, minerals, and calories. This can be obtained by eating a certain amount of fruits, vegetables, protein, and carbohydrates. Many college students do not maintain a healthy diet due to their eating habits which rely solely on social, cultural, economic, and political factors. During this stage of life, students rely entirely on the availability of food to determine when and where they will eat. Often due to stress
During the late 1990’s, there was a significant increase in scientific research detailing the negative impact that unhealthy eating habits had on people’s bodies. Adults possessing a greater knowledge or awareness of this research are more likely to eat healthier as well as have a lower daily average of consumed calories (Sanger-Katz, 2015). These studies have provided greater evidence showing that unhealthy eating habits can substantially increase one’s chances of acquiring chronic diseases. For example, surgeon general, Dr. David Satcher’s report –“Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity”, summarizes these effects of unhealthy eating habits (Sanger-Katz, 2015). Increasing the amount of research and data on the effects of eating habits has led to a shift in the attitudes of Americans towards a greater desire to live healthier