"Dietary Habits in AmericansDIETARY HABITS IN AMERICANSName of the AuthorSubject CodeProfessorThe Name of the School (University)The City and State where it is locatedDate1 Dietary Habits in AmericansINTRODUCTIONFood is a vital part of each individual as it supports in having a good health and supports inmaintaining well-being. Dietary or eating habits determine what kind of food a person is eatingand how often he eats. Dietary habits define an individual’s habitual decision of eating food. Onehave full right to decide the type, amount and choice of food he wants to eat but at the same timeit will not be always effective for the body(American Psychiatric Association,2015). Eachindividual have different body type, accordingly food requirements also varies. Consumingproper diet that includes vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins and carbohydrates in a balancedproportion and according to the requirement of the body will help in healthy outcomes. Suchpractice will not only support health but will also reduce the risk of disease or any kind of healthissues. MAIN DIETARY PRACTICES IN AMERICAIn this discussion we will highlight American dietary habits. Consider being one of thedeveloped countries of the world, American citizens are into different types of dietary habits.American population consists of 24 million of Natives with 500 tribes(American PsychiatricAssociation, 2015). Dietary habits of those people differ depending on their region climatic andgeographic aspects. People living in the coastal areas mostly depend of the marine and sea foodunlike those living in the Mountain or hilly areas. For them the major sources of food are theplants, nuts, meat and berries. Again a particular era does have some specific dietary habits, likebefore the Colonial period 60% to 70% of food source was from agriculture and farming ordomestic animals. Gradually this figure gets changed and the current trends show consumptionof more processed food as compared to the natural source.2 Dietary Habits in AmericansA survey confirm that only 10% of Americans are having healthy diet and the rest 90% peopleneed improvement in their food habits. Statistics again confirms that 62% of American foodhabit constitute large amount of fats while only 34% or Americans prefer vegetables while thepercentage of fruit preferences is even low of 21% (American Psychiatric Association, 2015).Dairy products are consumed by only 27%. This shows that most of the Americans do not followa healthy dietary regime and this is a major concern. EATING HABITS DYNAMICSSome of the common Eating Habits Dynamics or practices that are observed in common amongthe Americans are highlighted below.? 14 type of beverages and food are been consumed by an American in a day(Powers,Bardsley, Cypress, Duker, Funnell, Fischl, & Vivian, 2015)? One-third of American adults skip their major portion of food and that is the breakfast? Most of the Americans(around 73%) are highly inclined towards processed andprepared foods ? American teenagers and adults are also highly addicted towards special foods like cheese,chocolates and oils (Handelsman, Bloomgarden, Grunberger, Umpierrez, Zimmerman,Bailey, & Davidson, 2015)? It has been observed that Millennials are almost 12 hours eater that basically includestheir breakfast eating occasions are 12%, 16% for morning snacks, lunch 15%, afternoonsnack comprise of 17% while afternoon snackand dinner follows by 20% and 18%respectively? High consumption of aerated beverage are also seen among the Americans (Hu, 2002)3 Dietary Habits in AmericansRESEARCH ON DIETARY PREFERENCESMuch research has been conducted in order to understand the dietary preferences of UnitedStates. According to Diane Hayes numerous determinants, like cultural and social beliefs, guidesthe eating behavior of people. Those determinants also guide the motivational force in theindividuals to choose their diet plan and choices (Hayes, & Ross, 1987).As per the outcome ofthe experiment he conducted on 400 adult Americans, it was concluded that most of themrequires motivating factors that could help them in heading towards a healthy eating habit. Sarahhighlighted that sex differences affect the dieting trend in United States, especially among thecollage going mass.Most of them agreed of consuming high sugar content diet with 12% ofsugar (Davy, Benes, &Driskell, 2006). All of the above showcase great threats for the people ofall age groups in United Sates. DANGEROUS EFFECTSMajority of the death of the Americans are caused due to heart attack. This is a prime indicationof the unhealthy eating habits of the Americans. Again 64% of American men and 61% ofAmerican women are having the risk of health issues associated with their unhealthy eatinghabits(Hu, 2002). Those risks include obesity, high blood cholesterol and blood pressure.Addictions like cigarette smoking and alcohol also accelerates the condition. 12.3% ofAmericans are reported of having Type II diabetes. The age group consists over 19 years and it isassumed that this is growing gradually year by year. Risk of this is much higher in whiteAmericans, which is about 2.8 times that of the Black Americans (Handelsman, Bloomgarden,Grunberger, Umpierrez, Zimmerman, Bailey, & Davidson, 2015). Another big risk amongAmerican people is obesity which is a major risk factor for causing both hearth disease and Type4 Dietary Habits in AmericansII diabetes. An average of 30% or Americans is obese and 95% among them are having serioushealth issues.MINE EFFECTAs discussed in the above section, it would not be wrong considering obesity as the mine effectof the existing dietary habits in the USA. Adding to that will be the high consumption of theaerated beverage that adds to the rise in blood sugar level in the body leading to high risk ofType II diabetes. High consumption of junk and oily foods also hampers the health stability andreduces the immunity. Eventually all kind of health issues rises up and affecting large proportionof the population(Powers, Bardsley, Cypress, Duker, Funnell, Fischl, & Vivian, 2015).Consuming proper diet that includes vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins and carbohydrates in abalanced proportion and according to the requirement of the body will help in healthy outcomes.Lowing in the essential nutrients can also create great impact of the normal growth anddevelopment of the body.NUTRITION HABITS WITH BEHAVIORAL PATTERNSEating habits is highly influenced by the origin of the individual. Family, community, societyand even culture play a vital role in determining the nutritional pattern of an individual (Spring,2015). Role of region along with religion is also considered to influence the dietary behavior of aperson. Most people of Hindu Brahmin origin do not prefer meat or non-veg food. This impactstheir protein content and on the other hand Muslims prefer food of high protein and fat content.This also adds to rise in the protein content in their body(Powers, Bardsley, Cypress, Duker,Funnell, Fischl, & Vivian, 2015). Considering the age and sexuality, teenagers are highlyconscious of their physic that motivates them not to have a well-balanced diet. Among them girls5 Dietary Habits in Americansprefer to have less food consumption from the standard food required by the body. Risk of this ismuch higher in white Americans, which is about 2.8 times that of the Black Americans. Anotherbig risk among American people is obesity which is a major risk factor for causing both hearthdisease and Type II diabetes.NUTRITION EDUCATION CAN MOTIVATENutritional education is planned with an aim of generating awareness among the people abouttheir health the food they eat(Spring, 2015). It is developed strategically so as to includebalanced diet to a part of the daily food regime. This education is designed in such a manner thatit provides details about the food one eats, its significance, amount to be consumed, timing alongwith the calories gained by the same(Hu, 2002). Nutrition Education Programs are developed byvarious authorized organizations and agencies to combat the health related risks and challengesthat might affect the live and physical stability of individuals(American Psychiatric Association,2015). The education also includes educating ways of adopting healthy options of food,generating awareness with respect to balanced diet among people along with highlighting itssignificance, etc. In long tern this kind of healthy regimen will help in counteracting issuesrelated to above diseases conditions (Powers, Bardsley, Cypress, Duker, Funnell, Fischl,&Vivian, 2015). Following healthy regime will help in reducing the overall high risk of healthchallenges, thereby lowering the number of American deaths due to wrong or unbalanced diethabits.CONCLUSIONThe above discussion provided lot of information with respect to the general eating habits of theAmericans and how it is impacting their health and lives. Dietary habits of those people differ6 Dietary Habits in Americansdepending on their region climatic and geographic aspects. People living in the coastal areasmostly depend of the marine and sea food unlike those living in the Mountain or hilly areas. Forthem the major sources of food are the plants, nuts, meat and berries (Handelsman,Bloomgarden, Grunberger, Umpierrez, Zimmerman, Bailey, & Davidson, 2015). Unhealthy dietresults in rise in serious health issues like Type II diabetes, obesity, high blood cholesterol, etc.Thus it is highly recommended that people should be aware of their current food habits and theassociated risk. Eventually they should learn how to substitute their major food elements with noor little compromise on taste. 7 Dietary Habits in AmericansREFERENCESAmerican Psychiatric Association. (2015). Feeding and Eating Disorders: DSM-5®Selections. American Psychiatric Pub.Davy, S. R., Benes, B. A., &Driskell, J. A. (2006). Sex differences in dieting trends, eatinghabits, and nutrition beliefs of a group of midwestern college students. Journal ofthe American Dietetic Association, 106(10), 1673-1677.Handelsman, Y., Bloomgarden, Z. T., Grunberger, G., Umpierrez, G., Zimmerman, R. S.,Bailey, T. S., ...& Davidson, J. A. (2015). AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OFCLINICAL ENDOCRINOLOGISTS AND AMERICAN COLLEGE OFENDOCRINOLOGY-CLINICAL PRACTICE GUIDELINES FORDEVELOPING A DIABETES MELLITUS COMPREHENSIVE CARE PLAN- 2015-EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Complete guidelines are available athttps://www. aace. com/publications/guidelines. Endocrine Practice, 21(4), 413- 437.Hayes, D., & Ross, C. E. (1987).Concern with appearance, health beliefs, and eatinghabits. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 120-130.Hu, F. B. (2002). Dietary pattern analysis: a new direction in nutritionalepidemiology. Current opinion in lipidology, 13(1), 3-9.Powers, M. A., Bardsley, J., Cypress, M., Duker, P., Funnell, M. M., Fischl, A. H., ...&Vivian, E. (2015). Diabetes self-management education and support in type 2diabetes a joint position statement of the American Diabetes Association, the8 "