Food Habits & Choices - T3

• NCDs


  A Non-Communicable Disease is a disease that is not transferred from one person to another.
• Examples of NCDs

  1. Diabetes
  2. Cardiovascular Disease ( CVD )
  3. Obesity
  4. High Blood Pressure
  5. Some types of Cancer
• One of the major ways of reducing the risk of NCDs is to develop healthy food habits and food choices.
• An excessive food intake in elaborate meals and excessive snacking can lead to the development of NCDs.
• Food habits refer to why and how people eat, which foods they eat, and with whom they eat.
• Food choices are the selection of food a person makes for his own consumption.
• Making healthy food choices leads to adopting healthy food habits.
• Good eating habits during adolescence involve considering both the quality and quantity of foods eaten to ensure that meals consumed on different occasions remain healthy and help to reduce snacking.
• Food habits and food choices are influenced by both personal and external factors.
• Personal factors affecting food habits & choices

  1. Needs of a person:

  -hunger, nutritional needs, activity level, state of health, appetite

  2. Nutritional requirements:

  -each individual has a specific nutrient requirement at different life stages

  3. Personal preferences:

  -like or dislike of diff types of food: taste, smell, colour & texture of food

  4. Moods and emotions:

  -happiness, sadness, stress

  5. Lifestyle of people:

  -eating out and use of convenience food
• External factors affecting food habits & choices


  • Availability of food
  • Individual & family income
  • Social occasions
  • Peer influence
  • Ethnic group
  • Advertising
• Availability of food


  Food that are commonly and easily grown in garden at home, local foods, food in season as well as imported foods
• Individual & family income

  Money available to spend on food for family and pocket money of each individual
• Social occasions

  Family mealtimes, parties, picnic lunches
• Peer influence


  People of same age group eat different food & they may see their friends eating a food which they are not used to and in the long run they can start eating that particular food
• Ethnic group


  Traditions and religious beliefs
• Advertising

  Radio, TV, social media and billboards promoting different types of food
• Eating Out

  Eating out among adolescent is very common nowadays.
• Common eating outlets.

  • School or workplace canteen.
  • Street food vendors.
  • Food courts.
  • Fast-food outlets
  • Restaurants.
• Points to consider when eating out:

  1. Choose a variety of healthy food from the three food groups
  2. Avoid foods that are oily/fatty, too sweet or too salty
  3. Drink water instead of sweetened fizzy drinks or fruit juices
  4. Choose foods that are steamed, grilled, stir-fried or roasted instead of deep fried
  5. Choose fresh foods instead of processed foods
  6. Opt for plain boiled rice/wholemeal bread
  7. Use sauces, mayonnaise or dressings sparingly
  8. Limit intake of cakes with cream/icing
• Hygiene practices to consider while eating out:

  Ensure that:

  1. the place is clean
  2. food is properly covered & kept in clean containers
  3. drinking & running water is readily available for food preparation & for washing dirty utensils
  4. food is not sold near dustbins or toilets
• Healthy food choices to reduce risks of NCDs

  1. Increase intake of fruits and vegetable
  2. Eat less salt
  3. Limit consumption of foods rich in saturated fats
  4. Limit intake of refined foods
• Healthy food habits to reduce risks of NCDs

  1. Do not skip breakfast
  2. Include five fruits & vegetables in your daily diet
  3. Increase the use of aromatic herbs and spices to season dishes
  4. Increase intake of wholegrain products
• Major Causes of Eating Disorders

  Unhealthy food habits & food choices
• Good eating habits contributes in a healthy body weight.
• Eating disorders include inadequate or excessive food intake which affect the body weight.
• Common types of eating disorders

  1. Binge Eating
  2. Anorexia Nervosa
  3. Bulimia Nervosa
• Body Mass Index (BMI)

  It is a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in metres.
• BMI = weight (kg) / height (m) x height (m)
• BMI Range and Category

  Less than 15 to 16 = Severely Underweight

  16 to 18 = Underweight

  18 to 24 = Normal healthy weight

  24 to 30 = Overweight

  30 to 35 = Moderately obese

  35 to 40 = Severely obese
• Binge Eating

  It is a condition characterised by eating larger than normal amounts of foods in a relatively short period of time.
• Causes of Binge Eating

  Stress

  Depression
• People suffering from binge eating will:

  1. eat until they feel uncomfortably full
  2. eat larger amounts without feeling hungry
  3. eat alone due to feelings of embarrassment and shame
  4. feel guilty and unhappy
• Health effects of Binge Eating:

  Gastrointestinal problems

  Overweight

  Obesity in the long run
• Anorexia Nervosa

  It is a condition characterized by an obsessive fear of gaining weight. People with anorexia nervosa have an unrealistic perception of their body image.
• People with Anorexia Nervosa adopt:

  extreme diets

  extreme fasting

  excessive exercises
• People with Anorexia Nervosa limit the quantity of food they consume. They are underweight but they view themselves as overweight.
• Health effects of anorexia nervosa

  Brain damage

  Multi-organ failure

  Bone mass loss

  Heart difficulties

  Infertility
• Bulimia Nervosa

  It is a worsening condition of binge eating characterised by behaviours that compensate for overeating, such as:

  • forced vomiting
  • excessive exercise
  • extreme use of laxatives
• Bulimia Nervosa

  Binge eating is followed by self-induced vomiting and is typically done in secret, creating feelings of shame, guilt and lack of control for oneself.