How much a person consumes depends highly on their culture. Eating disorders, for example, are most often seen among European American women than the African American women (Durand & Barlow, 2016, p.291). This has been the effect of certain cultural beliefs, such as those that has something to do with the ideal body shape. It only appears that those who value thinness all the more tend to do more to attain a lower weight and thinner body. A small change in culture can influence the rate of eating disorders, such as seen in Asian women who attend Western universities and thus, have higher rates of eating disorders. Still, there are those who remain in America and yet, still succeed in controlling their weight, amidst the availability of food that are high in sugar, carbohydrates, fats, and cholesterol.
What My Mother Eats
For two consecutive days, or from March 12 until March 13, I wrote down a meal plan for my mother based on a 1,800 calorie allowance. On the first day, breakfast consists of 2 bananas, 4 tablespoons of cream, and 1 mug of brewed coffee. Lunch consists of 2 slices of wheat bread, 1 cup of drained tuna, and 2 bottles of water. For dinner, there was 1 piece fish fillet, 1 cup of cooked lima beans, and 1 piece of apple pie. As for March 13, for breakfast there was 2 medium pancakes, 4 tablespoons of cream, 1 mug of brewed coffee, and 1 bottle of water. For lunch, there was 1 cup of drained tuna and 1 bottle of water. For dinner, there was 2 cups chili with chicken and beans, as well as, 1 bottle of water. For midnight snack there was 1 ½ chocolate bar. This meal plan would be perfect for a diet that would prevent her from having hypertension, high sugar level, high fats and cholesterol.
Analyses of What My Mother Eats
The meal plan prepared for my mother was based on 1800 calorie allowance, which was perfect to prevent her from experiencing eating disorders and health problems. Based on the nutrients report, the two meals that I listed consists of a total of 1,247 calories, which was way below the 1800 calorie diameter line. Protein, carbohydrate, saturated fat, and phosphorus were way above the target limit; while the dietary fiber, sugar, fats, cholesterol, calcium, potassium, sodium, iron, magnesium, and zinc were below the target limit. There were more nutrients that were below the target limit than those that were above the target limit, which turned out to be good and beneficial for the person being analyzed.
The Way a Person Eats
The person being analyzed (i.e., my mother) is already a middle-aged woman, and for this type of people, they already experience what is called creeping obesity, in which people who are in the middle age experience “gradual but frequent weight gain” (Cassell & Gleaves, 2006, p.103). This starts from the age of 20 until a person reaches the age of 60 (Cassell & Gleaves, 2006, p.103). This is said to be the effect of lack of physical activity and other aspects of culture that creates a system of rules being established by groups across the society. People form rules for survival and thus, recreate their values, attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and norms, as shared by the entire group. Each group of people have their own ethnicity and race. However, for those who experience social transition from Africa or Asia, for example, to countries that are modernized and exposed more to Western products, values, images, and ideas, it appears that they are at higher risk of experiencing disordered eating. This is also true for Asian and Indian girls who transfer and live in Great Britain and experiencing having disordered eating. For these people (and us) who migrated from afar, they also experienced acculturation, and the fact that they should decide whether or not they should adopt the new values and traditions of the new culture. For this, the way to improve my mother’s eating habits is to focus more on foods that are healthy and nutritious, and to try and prevent whose high in cholesterol, sugar, and fats. She should instead of more diet-conscious to make sure she does not succumb to the habit of experiencing eating disorders. Eating should only be done in a simple manner, and it does not have to be overly many.
Cultural Influences behind Eating Behaviors
There are cultural influences behind eating behaviors and attitudes. For many women it is much more important to look and feel good than to be strong and healthy. For most young women, the degree of self-worth, success, and happiness depends largely on their body measurements or how small their hip sizes are. It is culture that gives an emphasis on how important body structure and formation is in terms of self-fulfillment and happiness. Most of these can be witnessed in the television via media, wherein there are countless pictures of slim women and less instances wherein overweight women were being shown. For those who get the message, they face the risk of experiencing anorexia and bulimia, as an effect of imagining the gloriousness of being slim and slender, as seen in magazines and televisions. While it is true that being slim is healthy, the fact is that, the media has a lot to say when it came to sending loud messages to people of the culture, which influenced their eating habits.
Conclusion
Culture also has a lot to say when it comes to physical appearance and bodily formation. In the old times, for example, Greeks and Romans believed the ideal bodily form of women should reflect those that had ample thighs, waists, and hips. This tradition took place again during the Renaissance period wherein “plumpness was admired” (Cassell & Gleaves, 2006, p.103). This changed in the 19th century when corsets were invented, and the ideal bodily structure was that which reflected the hourglass figure. Time came when it was glamorous to look sickly and having the tubercular appearance was pronounced as a romantic personality (Cassell & Gleaves, 2006, p.103). There are even cases when people worry themselves too much about their weight to the point that the current standard of beauty is one so thin they consider themselves to be overweight. On the other end, those who do dieting usually do not develop eating disorders, so that making a nutrients report of the daily intake of a person will turn out to be beneficial, as it prevents them from facing risks of having eating disorders.
References:
Cassell, D.K., & Gleaves, D.H. (2006). The encyclopedia of obesity and eating disorders (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Facts On File, Inc. Print.
Durand, V.M., & Barlow, D.H. (2016). Essentials of abnormal psychology (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. Print.
