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.

Undernutrition and Food Insufficiency

Statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) have revealed that of the 57 million people who died in 2008, 63 percent of deaths were caused by non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The NCDs responsible for the most deaths include chronic respiratory illnesses, cancers, diabetes, and cardiovascular conditions. Approximately 80 percent of these deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries. The WHO estimates that the proportion of deaths caused by NCDs is likely to increase worldwide, particularly in underdeveloped and developing nations, and that poor nutrition will be one of the principal drivers of this trend (National Research Council, 2010). Food insufficiency in poorer countries is a core contributor to this problem and must be addressed if progress toward healthier food choices is to be made.

Researchers across the globe have consistently found that low intake of vegetables and fruits increases the risk of developing cancers and cardiovascular diseases. High salt intake has also been linked to an increased risk of stomach cancer, cardiovascular complications, and hypertension. High intake of trans-fatty acids and saturated fats is recognized as one of the leading causes of cardiovascular disease. A high intake of processed sugar is considered a leading cause of diabetes. Recent studies have also shown that excessive red meat consumption can cause cancer, while excessive carbohydrate intake can lead to obesity and overweight.

The WHO estimates that approximately 2.8 million people die annually due to obesity and being overweight. Most of these deaths occur in high-income countries, but cases of obesity and overweight are rising rapidly in developing and underdeveloped countries as well, making this a global concern (National Research Council, 2010). What is clear from this evidence is that poor nutrition and undernutrition are strongly linked to many diseases, and that concerted action is needed to reverse these trends and save lives.

Determinants of Food Choice

Hunger is the primary determinant of food choice. Whenever people feel hungry they want to eat, and they will likely continue eating until they feel satisfied—a state known as satiety. The regulation of hunger and satiety is controlled mentally through the central nervous system. The feeling of fullness after eating is generated by the consumption of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates (European Food Information Council, 2006).

Palatability refers to the degree of pleasure one derives from eating a specific food. It affects appetite and the quantity of food one is willing to consume. The higher the palatability of a given food, the more likely a person is to choose and eat it (European Food Information Council, 2006).

Like hunger, taste is one of the primary determinants of food choice. Taste is defined as the total of all sensory stimulations triggered by consuming a particular food and is closely related to palatability. People generally develop taste preferences from a very young age. Taste is thought to have an innate component; however, cultural influences, beliefs, attitudes, and expectations are also believed to shape taste preferences as one grows older (European Food Information Council, 2006).

People cannot purchase and eat food they cannot afford, no matter how nutritious or palatable it may be. The food people consume is therefore often a reflection of their socioeconomic status. This is why families from lower socioeconomic backgrounds typically have poorer diets—they cannot afford dietary variety. Improving access to nutritious foods, including fruits and vegetables, and making them affordable, is one of the most important steps toward helping people adopt healthier eating habits (European Food Information Council, 2006).

Education and knowledge are among the most significant influences on dietary choices in adults. Some people are unaware that the foods they eat are harmful to them, or are unfamiliar with basic nutritional concepts such as a balanced diet. Raising awareness through public resources and media campaigns can help those lacking this foundational knowledge begin to make healthier choices (European Food Information Council, 2006).

People are typically raised eating foods unique to their culture and, in some cases, are raised avoiding certain foods such as meats or eggs for cultural or religious reasons. It is generally very difficult to change cultural food preferences unless a person relocates to an environment where different food habits and choices are the norm (Brent, 2019).

People sometimes eat certain foods because their friends or people they admire eat them. This is often a subconscious influence. Food choices driven by social influence tend to be less permanent and may shift when the social influencer is no longer present. Marketing and advertising can have a similar effect: when people see appetizing food advertised, they are often prompted to seek it out when they find themselves in a relevant situation. For instance, a person running errands may subconsciously recall an advertisement for fried chicken or a soft drink and soon find themselves at a fast food restaurant (Brent, 2019).

Stress and depression are known to lead people to eat more. Conversely, when a person is in a positive emotional state, they are less likely to overeat and more likely to make healthy food choices (European Food Information Council, 2006).

Conclusion

Quality of life can be described as a general measure of a patient's comfort and well-being. It is a multi-factor concept shaped by an individual's psychological, social, and physical functioning, and its measurement is becoming increasingly valuable across most fields of health research (Bashan et al., 2018). Health issues related to nutrition—such as obesity—greatly affect quality of life both directly and indirectly. In order to improve and maintain quality of life, dietary intake must be balanced and sufficient. Just as malnutrition-related illnesses harm quality of life, obesity and its associated conditions—resulting from overfeeding and an unbalanced diet—equally diminish it. Addressing poor nutrition at the individual, community, and policy level is therefore not merely a health priority but a fundamental quality-of-life imperative.