Americans struggle for a healthy lifestyle and try to adopt the healthiest eating habits; yet, it seems that their efforts are falling into a gap, as it seems that taste is the most important consideration when they chose their food, followed by cost, nutrition, convenience and weight control (Glanz, Basil et.al, 1998), which in turns means that the tastier, the better, and what is tastier than fast food? However, if we want to effectively strike the problem and come up to a viable solution, allowing Americans to eat healthier and life a healthier lifestyle that will enhance their wellbeing, it is important to dig even deeper, right into the roots of what makes Americans eat the way they do. Frequent family dinners is a proven way to effectively help children adopt healthy eating habits that will follow them up to their adulthood. That way, we can start making a new generation of healthy American eaters that know how to eat to stay healthy.
Going into deeper of the Americans’ eating habits, one will come to a sad truth. The CBS News series "Where America Stands, has taken a step forward and analysed various statistics that highlight the American life from many different angles. Based on their findings in combination with solid sources, like the Journal of American Medicine, it came through that only a 43% of the American families all sit down to eat together on a daily basis, while approximately 78 percent reported to eat together “most of the time” on weekends (www.cbsnews.com). During family dinners, the TV is on in 33 percent of individuals surveyed and 5 percent reported sending messages or emails or talking on their cell phone throughout their family meal (www.cbsnews.com ). The University of Florida has posted an interesting article, where the importance of family meals is greatly highlighted. Based on research, they report that family dinners, at least four time a week, not only contributes to child development, but also reduce the risk of obesity, eating disorders and substance abuse, among others (solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu). Moreover, family dinners encourages healthy eating habits that children will most likely follow for the rest of their lives (solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu). additional studies have also shown that part of the benefits of family dinners is the fact that people tend to eat more fruit and vegetables, fewer fried food and less soda, while their protein, vitamins and calcium intake is increased (solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu). Since all problems must be confronted and resolved from their root, it should be wise that Americans go back to the traditional family dinner and skip the unhealthy consequences of not doing so.
It is true that Americans long for a slim and lean body figure and a healthy lifestyle. However, aaccording to facts posted in the official web page of dosomething.org, perhaps America’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to help young people in any possible way, it seems that 52 percent of polled Americans consider figuring out how to adopt a healthy lifestyle far more complicated than doing their taxes. Taking data from the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA), it appears from a study conducted by the USDA that the average American consumed approximately one full ton of food, which means about 2,000 pounds per year, in 2011 (dosomething.org). The same study indicated that Americans consume:
- 632 lbs of dairy products, with approximately 31lbs of them is cheese.
- 415.4lbs of vegetables, mostly potatoes and corn.
- 273 lbs of fruit, mostly oranges and apples.
- 183.6 lbs of meat and poultry, with only 16.1 lbs is fish
- 141.6lbs. of sweeteners
- 53 gallons of soda
(Data taken from http://www.dosomething.org)
The above statistics indicate a tendency towards unhealthy eating, in the middle of an attempt to eat healthy, which is a complete paradox and bring us back to the importance of family dinners.
The high significance of family dinners is also stressed in an article published by the American Psychological Association, in November 2011, where the triples rates of childhood obesity are due to unhealthy eating, which continues up to their adulthood, making them obese or overweight adults (apa.org). However, parents can jumpstart and help the future adult American citizens adopt healthy eating habits by having frequent family dinners (apa.org). Indicatively, in families where family meals was a regular, children were 24 percent more “likely to be eating healthy foods than those in families who ate few or no meals together” (apa.org), plus they were about 12 percent less likely to suffer from obesity or problems maintaining a normal weight (apa.org). What is more, they were “20 percent less likely to eat unhealthy foods and 35 percent less likely to engage in dangerous weight-loss efforts like purging, taking diet pills and laxatives, or vomiting” (apa.org).
Dinner time can be a family event that everybody aspires at the end of a challenging day; and, not only will even a simple meal encourage a healthy eating attitude, but also effectively contribute to a child’s development. That way, we can accomplish both physically and mentally healthy individuals that will form the American society.
References:
CBSNEWS, How Americans Eat Today, 2010. Retrieved from: http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500165_162-6086647.html?pageNum=1
Glanz Karen, Basil Michael et.al, Why Americans Eat what they do: Taste, nutrition,cost, convenience and weight control concerns as influences of food consumption, 2008. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Volume 98, Nr.10. Retrieved from: http://www.med.upenn.edu/chbr/documents/1998-Glanz-WhyAmericansEatWhatTheyDo.pdf
Dosomethingbetter.org, 11 Facts About American Eating Habits, n.d. Retrieved from: http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-american-eating-habits
American Psychological Association, Healthy Habits for Healthy Families, 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/healthy.aspx
