informal poll on nutrition

[climbergirl]

hey guys, I'm writing a problem/solution paper on overweight adolescents and want to ask if your upbringing had a contributory effect on your eating habits now. Such as;

 

Do you eat heathful foods now? Do you think that your parents influence had a precipitating factor on your eating habits now or was it a personal choice?

 

Any input is great and appreciated.

[ruby_gloom]

Do you eat heathful foods now?

 

sort of. i eat a lot of 'alternative health foods' but that is mainly because i have to (read: bad health). nowadays, i don't have to eat 'healthy' foods religiously the way i used to, but there certainly is an imbalance between the healthy foods that i have to eat and the yummy-but-not-so-healthy foods that i want to eat.

 

during my childhood, i ate a lot of greens, mainly because my dad always insisted on having a salad before or as a side to the meal. my mom was much more fond of pastas than she was of meat or poultry, so meat and fish are something i can definitely do without. however, the protein and omega-3s that are plentifully found in these foods are good, so i try to supplement them with other foods/supplements.

 

today, i do eat a lot of greens, especially broccoli and its ilk. i think that, more than anything, it has to do with some sort of conditioning on part of my parents because i have to admit that i find them rather tasteless.

 

all in all, my food choices are pretty healthy, aside from the typical junk food (read: chips and soda). mostly, though, i eat healthily mostly as a habit (ie: salads before meals) or because i have to.

 

Do you think that your parents influence had a precipitating factor on your eating habits now or was it a personal choice?

 

certainly.

 

i would prefer to eat nothing but sweets and junk food and be able to remain healthy, but i know that is not the case. being conscious of this is partly thanks to school, but before that, it was heavily engrained by my parents, especially my mom.

 

i speculate that if it hadn't been for my parents, i wouldn't eat the way i do now, except for having to eat certain foods for health reasons.

 

and further, as in just about all things, if not all, genetics and the environment play a pretty balanced role. thus, if someone is obese, the likelihood that obesity runs in the family is certainly probable. additionally, the environment that child is raised in also plays a major factor, since a child typically must eat whatever their parents decide is good.

 

as one ages, our choices expand and we are able to make our own nutritional choices. however, the practices that we were raised with, as well as the information that we acquire, certainly are a factor, i believe, in whether a teenager or adults continues or discontinues the health regimes they grew up with.

[climbergirl]

sort of. i eat a lot of 'alternative health foods' but that is mainly because i have to (read: bad health). nowadays, i don't have to eat 'healthy' foods religiously the way i used to, but there certainly is an imbalance between the healthy foods that i have to eat and the yummy-but-not-so-healthy foods that i want to eat.

 

during my childhood, i ate a lot of greens, mainly because my dad always insisted on having a salad before or as a side to the meal. my mom was much more fond of pastas than she was of meat or poultry, so meat and fish are something i can definitely do without. however, the protein and omega-3s that are plentifully found in these foods are good, so i try to supplement them with other foods/supplements.

 

today, i do eat a lot of greens, especially broccoli and its ilk. i think that, more than anything, it has to do with some sort of conditioning on part of my parents because i have to admit that i find them rather tasteless.

 

all in all, my food choices are pretty healthy, aside from the typical junk food (read: chips and soda). mostly, though, i eat healthily mostly as a habit (ie: salads before meals) or because i have to.

 

 

 

certainly.

 

i would prefer to eat nothing but sweets and junk food and be able to remain healthy, but i know that is not the case. being conscious of this is partly thanks to school, but before that, it was heavily engrained by my parents, especially my mom.

 

i speculate that if it hadn't been for my parents, i wouldn't eat the way i do now, except for having to eat certain foods for health reasons.

 

and further, as in just about all things, if not all, genetics and the environment play a pretty balanced role. thus, if someone is obese, the likelihood that obesity runs in the family is certainly probable. additionally, the environment that child is raised in also plays a major factor, since a child typically must eat whatever their parents decide is good.

 

as one ages, our choices expand and we are able to make our own nutritional choices. however, the practices that we were raised with, as well as the information that we acquire, certainly are a factor, i believe, in whether a teenager or adults continues or discontinues the health regimes they grew up with.

 

Thank you, Ruby! That's what I'm trying to find out-if our eating habits that are instilled from our upbringing are carried over into adulthood.

 

My parents always had at least 3 vegetables on the table and now, as an adult, I find that there are times that my body really craves vegetables and fruit. I'm just trying to see if there's a correlation (i.e. solution).

[ShoeGirl]

When I was growing up my mom made sure we ate healthy, she cooked healthy meals every night, wouldn't buy sugary cereals, wouldn't buy pop, didn't take us out for fast food very often (if we did it was Subway or another "healthier" chain). I moved out of her house 3 years ago and I still find myself doing the same things. I still make the same meals my mom did at home, I never eat fast food or drink pop. My brother moved out a year ago and has gained about 30 pounds since then because he started eating fast food and drinking pop a lot more. I am sure that I eat the way I do because of how my mom raised me.

[Pyro]

hey guys, I'm writing a problem/solution paper on overweight adolescents and want to ask if your upbringing had a contributory effect on your eating habits now. Such as;

 

Do you eat heathful foods now? Do you think that your parents influence had a precipitating factor on your eating habits now or was it a personal choice?

 

Any input is great and appreciated.

 

At first, my mom would cook healthy food, but I was a brat when I was younger and I was picky (still am sort of:o) with my food and I didn't eat alot of the healthy stuff. As I entered my teen years, my mom became a work horse and my dad was in and out of work, so it was hard at that point to have a healthy cooked meal.

 

Today, I eat as healthy as I can. This had nothing to do with my parents, but for my own health. Another contributing factor is my GF. She is currently working on her masters and will soon be a RD, so you can imagine what type of impact she has had on my eating habits..

[Tony T]

When I was young, my parents told me if I didn't finish EVERYTHING on my plate I couldn't go out and play outside or watch TV afterwards. What a crappy thing to do to any kid. Yes, it affected me in big ways. Here they were, REWARDING a kid for eating all this food I didn't want to eat.

 

Parents should let kids eat ONLY the amount of food they want...and then not let them have anymore later. Eventually the kid will eat a proper amount. Forcing a child to eat is absolutely wrong and can all kinds of harmful affects on his or her eating habits and he or she grows into adulthood.

 

And that wasn't the ONLY fricken mistake my parents made!!!

[FleshNBones]

Parents should let kids eat ONLY the amount of food they want...and then not let them have anymore later. Eventually the kid will eat a proper amount. Forcing a child to eat is absolutely wrong and can all kinds of harmful affects on his or her eating habits and he or she grows into adulthood.

Very true.

I have a friend whose parents forced him to finish his plate. Today, I am taller than him, and I have half the stomach capacity. He has trouble keeping the weight off, and I have trouble putting it on.

[Trialbyfire]

I was raised believing in nutrition and healthy foods. No one was ever required to eat everything on their plate until the plate was empty. We could eat as many fresh veggies as snacks at any time of the day because my mom always kept a couple of different types washed and cut into sticks for us in the fridge. Fresh fruit was always in a basket in the kitchen and we could have as many of those as we wanted as snacks.

 

While there were times that my parents did make us eat things we didn't like, it was usually a "try at least three bites" type of force feeding although they were more stringent with vegetables. I did hide my peas though...

 

Overall, I think that's why everyone in my family enjoys food and most of us enjoy cooking as a hobby, even one of my brothers. Weight was and is not an issue for us.

[polywog]

My mother was not into cooking, but she made good balanced meals and made lots of things from scratch. She did not serve us, we served ourselves at the table so made out own portions. She also rarely made enough food for leftovers, so it was hard to pig out, and it never occurred to me to stuff my face. We were always naturally slender, maybe it was genes, but maybe it was our habits (we were also always playing outside). She was also very much on a budget (single mom feeding 4 kids) so we didn't eat as much red meat as our peers. I think the fact that we didn't have loads of extra food had to do with her budget. I remember meals as being more about hanging out together and yacking as a family than focussing on what was for dinner.

 

We had some "junk food" and pop around, and got donuts and stuff like that, but it would be something like 6 donuts for 4 kids so there was always a feeling of "rationing" that we took for granted. I don't remember ever feeling aware of anything being unhealthy or fattening, these sorts of thoughts about food were not in our radar. Snacking wasn't a part of out habits, though often while watching TV in the evening my mom would pull out some "cheetos" and some RC Cola. But it wasn't made into a big deal.

 

We went out for fast food once a week, after 5'oclock mass on Saturdays, which we loved (the food, not the mass), and usually ordered pizza on Fridays from a local family-owned place which eventually got put out of business by some chain.

 

We also never got messages about something being fattening or too filled with sugar. I guess because of this, we ate whatever we wanted in moderation.

 

So I think my good food habits were inadvertantly a result of growing up with a smart mother on a budget who was herself not obsessed with food.

[This_Too_Shall_Pass]

Well, I didn't grow up in the US, so I was spared of the soda and chips overdose that kids here have, growing up. In addition, the food habits at my place were extremely healthy - no junk at all. No overly fatty / oily / sweet stuff.

 

I actually developed a bit of a sweet tooth after I came here.

 

Because I'm not American, I don't know if my childhood food habits apply to "growing kids in America".

 

But, I firmly believe that food habits and food preferences are all formed in childhood, and remain imprinted throughout life. If you grew up drinking soda and eating chips with every meal, you'll want to carry that on in adult life.

And yes, the family's eating habits will influence the kids'.

 

For that reason, parents need to really pay attention to what their kids are eating. And no tolerating any fuss - fussy kids usually pick up the wrong eating habits. As kids, we were not mollycoddled in any matter, food included - and so I'm not a fussy eater at all.

 

 

It's really important to develop an eating and preference pattern for a child, by the age of 8 - 10. This is not a statistic that I know of, though - just personal observation.

[PWSX3]

This is a good question!!!

 

I grew up in the country in a smaller town so you didn't have all the fast food places & we didn't go to town that often. My mom would make all our meals & I remember going to the DQ was a big treat.

 

In the last 8 months I have stopped eating out as much, & at first it was a little hard (maybe because I had to do the cooking at home which I wasn't used to) but I feel that because of how I grew up that might have had something to do with making not going out to eat as hard.

 

Now when we do go to the DQ (special occasions) it feels like a treat again, you enjoy it more or at least I do.

 

We also ate a lot of vegetarian foods growing up so now I don't eat that much meat or should I say I don't have to have meat at every meal like some people.

 

I also find myself eating things that have been pasted down thru the family such as peanut butter & pickle sandwhiches for an example. Another one is fruit juices that are made from blending up real fruit, you will find that at any of our family reunions.

 

Since you asked this question I have one; now that I'm getting older I enjoy trying new foods where when I was younger I just ate the same thing most of the time.

What makes a person do that?????

[climbergirl]

I was raised believing in nutrition and healthy foods. No one was ever required to eat everything on their plate until the plate was empty. We could eat as many fresh veggies as snacks at any time of the day because my mom always kept a couple of different types washed and cut into sticks for us in the fridge. Fresh fruit was always in a basket in the kitchen and we could have as many of those as we wanted as snacks.

 

While there were times that my parents did make us eat things we didn't like, it was usually a "try at least three bites" type of force feeding although they were more stringent with vegetables. I did hide my peas though...

 

Overall, I think that's why everyone in my family enjoys food and most of us enjoy cooking as a hobby, even one of my brothers. Weight was and is not an issue for us.

 

Exactly how my family was/is!

[climbergirl]

This is a good question!!!

 

I grew up in the country in a smaller town so you didn't have all the fast food places & we didn't go to town that often. My mom would make all our meals & I remember going to the DQ was a big treat.

 

In the last 8 months I have stopped eating out as much, & at first it was a little hard (maybe because I had to do the cooking at home which I wasn't used to) but I feel that because of how I grew up that might have had something to do with making not going out to eat as hard.

 

Now when we do go to the DQ (special occasions) it feels like a treat again, you enjoy it more or at least I do.

 

We also ate a lot of vegetarian foods growing up so now I don't eat that much meat or should I say I don't have to have meat at every meal like some people.

 

I also find myself eating things that have been pasted down thru the family such as peanut butter & pickle sandwhiches for an example. Another one is fruit juices that are made from blending up real fruit, you will find that at any of our family reunions.

 

Since you asked this question I have one; now that I'm getting older I enjoy trying new foods where when I was younger I just ate the same thing most of the time.

What makes a person do that?????

 

Did your family subscribe to the same theory as TBF and myself that you had to try a few bites? If you did it's possible that you remember that and, at one time, realized that you liked something that you thought you wouldn't?

 

Or..

 

maybe you're just bored with the lack of variety in your diet? Perhaps, you're just becoming more adventurous/experimental and realize that trying a new food won't kill you-you don't like it, you don't have to eat it again. That's kind of where I am. My dad used to lie...saying that calamari was actually onion rings, squid/mushrooms, frog legs are chicken, etc. I went through a rebellion stage of only eating to what I had become accustomed to, no way I'd try anything new. But as I got older, I enjoy trying new foods.

 

On a sidenote, thank you for the responses-they were all interesting to read and gave me great insight. However, my instructor nixed this topic as too big, too many variables (culture for example)-she wanted small, personal, with little to no research. Decided on a relationship PS paper instead.

 

IDK, maybe this topic would make a good argument paper???