Influences on How we Eat

As the number of obesity cases across the world continue to grow, common eating patterns and choices have scrutinized in search of potential causes of this world wide epidemic. How did it come to be that as industrialized countries became more knowledgable and prosperous, their  populations simultaneously became less healthy? The obvious answer is that our population has developed a rather strong taste for unhealthy foods and that food companies thus put their efforts towards satisfying the desires of the people. However, as I felt the issue was far more complex than businesses supplying their consumer with what they want, I looked at a few articles regarding the topic. Surprisingly, the research stemmed much further than simply explaining why we like unhealthy food. Topics ranged from how we biologically desire food to how we are trained to eat food to how we learn what is desirable to look like as a result of the food we eat. Through this variety of research I was able to arrive at my current thesis, which is that our thoughts about nutrition and eating habits are generated primarily through peer and media influences rather than our own preferences.

In order to support my claim, I will incorporate a variety of studies done on pertinent topics. After introducing the nutritional issue that is sweeping across the industrialized world, I plan to explain our biological desires regarding food. After I have presented the reader with a basic understanding of how we naturally enjoy food, I will turn their attention towards how we unnaturally are trained to eat food. By citing experiments and studies which explain how this training takes place throughout an individuals life, often beginning at the ripe age of two, the reader will understand the constant influence imposed by peers and the media the average individual is under. I will also site a specific article which exemplifies tactics used to influence readers to think in a certain way regarding food choices. I will conclude by stressing the importance of both understanding the influences you are under when it comes to how you eat and  educating yourself about healthier alternatives.