Nutrition, Behavior, and Lifestyle Disease: Causes and Solutions

Introduction

Without good nutrition, one cannot lead a quality and healthy lifestyle. A significant number of diseases and health conditions in America and elsewhere in the world are caused by poor nutrition. These are known as lifestyle diseases. Other factors such as hypertension, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and reduced physical activity can also contribute to acquiring a lifestyle disease, but the primary cause is usually poor nutrition. Besides causing lifestyle diseases, a poor diet can also affect daily life in several other ways. For example, poor nutrition can result in lower academic performance, reduced productivity, and diminished concentration. For young children, poor nutrition can also stunt growth and development.

Unfortunately, it is the poor who are most affected by poor nutrition. They bear the greatest burden of the lifestyle and chronic diseases brought about by inadequate diets. Beyond low-income populations, research shows that members of other socioeconomic classes are also affected, albeit to a lesser extent. Some studies have pointed to rising insurance and healthcare costs as evidence of this (Pothukuchi, 2004).

Nutrition has a close relationship with behavior. The relationship is often bi-directional. Evidence suggests that consuming certain foods or nutrients can affect or trigger specific behaviors. Conversely, certain habits and behaviors can influence what one decides to eat or avoid. Furthermore, according to Hawkes (2013), several contextual factors often shape how, what, and when we eat.

Community thinking and behavior are also among the most important factors in determining what people eat. Therefore, for any significant dietary change to occur, community-wide engagement may be necessary. This includes involving the broader community in helping individuals with poor nutritional habits gain access to and consume healthier foods. Discussions at the community level should include evaluation of the local food system to determine what is needed to bring about sustainable change. These discussions should produce programs that are appropriately scaled for effective management and capable of bringing about meaningful improvements to the local food system (Hawkes, 2013).

Misconceptions on Nutrition

People often adopt food-related behaviors and attitudes from a very young age due to socioeconomic, psychosocial, and cultural factors. Many important elements of food selection, preparation, and consumption style have cultural roots, and most people participate subconsciously in perpetuating these cultural norms as a way of maintaining their cultural identity. Beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors about food cannot be accurately determined through surveys alone. It is therefore important to design focus groups and other qualitative methods to capture a more complete picture and gather meaningful data to explain observed phenomena. The purpose of focus groups is not merely to collect broad information but to understand participants' attitudes, opinions, experiences, explanations, and critiques regarding specific issues. Focus groups also allow respondents to clarify, qualify, and build upon one another's comments, producing richer and more in-depth data (James, 2004).

Nutrition scholars are increasingly utilizing theoretical frameworks and models to develop nutritional programs. However, even though nutritional and health theories can help develop, execute, and assess these programs, few of them focus on culture and community as the primary drivers of nutritional choices and health behaviors (James, 2004). Another limitation in researching the relationship between nutrition and culture is optimistic bias. Most people exhibit this bias because they underestimate their own risk of suffering the effects of poor nutrition relative to others. This bias has been documented in numerous studies showing that many individuals believe they are less likely to consume a high-fat diet than their peers, and that people with low fruit and vegetable intake tend to overestimate how much they actually consume (Pothukuchi, 2004).

Nutrition and Behavior Concerns

The National Diet and Nutrition Survey of young people between the ages of four and eighteen years revealed that school children were consuming more than the recommended daily intakes of sugars and saturated fat. Multiple studies have confirmed that high sugar intake—particularly in the form of sugary drinks consumed between meals—can lead to dental cavities and diabetes. The recommended alternatives are milk and water. These are the healthiest beverages to consume between meals, yet studies show that children between eleven and fourteen years old, and those between fifteen and eighteen years old, drink less than the recommended daily intake of both. This means these age groups are missing out on adequate iron and calcium.

Low calcium levels are especially concerning because the micronutrient is essential for bone development; those with insufficient calcium intake risk developing osteoporosis later in life (Scott, 2007). High intake of saturated fat, meanwhile, increases the risk of young people developing heart disease and related complications as they age. Taken together, these findings indicate that many young people are not consuming a balanced diet, and their poor nutrition exposes them to the risk of developing lifestyle diseases in adulthood.