Throughout the history of humans the shifts in eating behaviors has resulted in an increased number of overweight and obese individuals throughout the world. As the majority of jobs become more sedentary the weight of those working has increased causing what some call an obesity epidemic. (Church, 2011) Although, not one single factor can be solely identified causing this large trend throughout the world. Rather, in the case of weight, physiological, psychological, and environmental factors all influence a person’s weight. Understanding the complex system of factors that explain the overall increase in individual weight can help reverse this epidemic and promote personal health as opposed to finding an optimum weight. For those struggling
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An individual’s relationships both romantic and platonic influence their weight, with single, divorced, or those living alone demonstrating a greater likelihood to eat lower nutrient foods. (Crawford, 2010) This demonstrates the importance of social support in critical food choices affecting eating behaviors leading to obesity. Within a social unit such as a family or a work group behavioral modeling greatly affects what is consumed. The skills in selecting and preparing food is honed during formative years and affects future weight. Within America, large portion size also contributes to behavioral eating, especially at fast food establishments and restaurants. On top of those large portions eating with a group of friends or family increases food intake because an individual may be more focused on who they are with rather than what or how much they are eating. Depending on a person’s weight their behavioral eating habits vary within their own environment. When manipulating time on a clock within a controlled environment overweight people tended to respond more to external cues such as time and sight and smell of food when eating while individual’s within a normal weight range were more likely to respond to internal cues, like a growling stomach. (Schachter, 1968) Eating without purpose is a significant cause in the growing weights of overweight and obese individuals. Consuming food without feeling hunger increases the amount of unnecessary calories that are not put to use in the body but rather turned into fat
An individual’s relationships both romantic and platonic influence their weight, with single, divorced, or those living alone demonstrating a greater likelihood to eat lower nutrient foods. (Crawford, 2010) This demonstrates the importance of social support in critical food choices affecting eating behaviors leading to obesity. Within a social unit such as a family or a work group behavioral modeling greatly affects what is consumed. The skills in selecting and preparing food is honed during formative years and affects future weight. Within America, large portion size also contributes to behavioral eating, especially at fast food establishments and restaurants. On top of those large portions eating with a group of friends or family increases food intake because an individual may be more focused on who they are with rather than what or how much they are eating. Depending on a person’s weight their behavioral eating habits vary within their own environment. When manipulating time on a clock within a controlled environment overweight people tended to respond more to external cues such as time and sight and smell of food when eating while individual’s within a normal weight range were more likely to respond to internal cues, like a growling stomach. (Schachter, 1968) Eating without purpose is a significant cause in the growing weights of overweight and obese individuals. Consuming food without feeling hunger increases the amount of unnecessary calories that are not put to use in the body but rather turned into fat