Determinants of Eating Behaviors
Eating behavior is severely affected by social factors. Over the years, numerous researchers have revealed that the eating habits of human beings are heavily influenced by external aspects. The dietary choices of human beings tend to vary as per the social context they are in. The socially accepted norms of eating are majorly set by the society and the social context of every geographical location; thus, human beings adapt the habits of others, believing that the habits of others are the more acceptable norms of the society. The present paper aims to discuss the social factors that affect and influence the eating habits of human beings, specifically the factor of cultural impacts on the eating behaviors of individuals (Higgs & Thomas, 2016).
Eating behaviors can be severely impacted by various external factors. Before diving deep into the dimensions of one particular factor, it is imperative to understand all of the major determinants that develop the eating behaviors of human beings. These factors are, biological, economic, physical, social, psychological, personal beliefs and environmental influences (Higgs & Ruddock, 2020).
Human beings respond to the factor of hunger differently and for some individuals, that becomes the defining factor that influences their eating patterns and creates a structured framework for their eating behaviors. The factor of culture has long impacted the nature of human beings and their tendencies towards the approval of the kind of food that they want to ‘allow’ in their households. The present paper focuses on the cultural beliefs as well as the biases that lead to the development of eating patterns throughout generations belonging to the same cultural background. The underlying factor that cultures impacts the decision-making process of individuals remains the same here (Patience, 2016).
It is an established and has been a long-known fact that even though the process of decision making varies in individuals, there are some factors that group individuals into a section, which, in turn, leads them to construct a set pattern of behavior. Cultural relationship amid individuals is one of those presiding factors. The cultural determinants of food consumption basically relate to the concept of a distinct form of practice that involves a decision-making process that is essentially based on the votes of the masses or the approval of the majority of the community (Atkins & Bowle, 2016). Individuals, today, live in close-knitted communities, where every decision an individual takes somehow ends up affecting their entire communities, no matter how personal the decision. For instance, for the present paper, the decision in consideration is that of the development of eating behaviors as per the cultural impacts, now, what needs to be understood is that the present society has transformed to a kind of society that is extremely sensitive and even the tiniest thing can end up triggering certain individuals of the society (Sz?cs & Vida, 2017). Under such circumstances, it becomes imperative that individuals consider the factor of triggering any individual of the society unintentionally, and, in these times, food consumptions and eating behaviors have become one of the major factors that can lead to an outburst from specific sections of the society. Undeniably so, on an extremely personal and individualistic level, this concept seems bothersome as no individual would like to be commanded by the prevalent notions of the society regarding their eating habits, but, as human beings reside in a co-dependent society, it becomes vital to undertake and consider these factors even while making personal decisions so as to not harm the sentiments of certain sections of the society as this practice can lead to unnecessary rioting or may cause disruption amongst individuals who have differing set of opinions (Bryant, 2020).
Factors that Influence Eating Behaviors
However, while analyzing this extremely sensitive issue, it is also important to consider the utter helplessness and vulnerability of those individuals who do not identify with the conventional notions of the society. Under the umbrella of this particular social factor, there is also an underlying psychological factor. Over the years, there has been strong empirical evidence that suggests that psychological factors strongly influence food intake and can even have influence on the entire eating behavior of individuals. Some individuals prefer to eat in a manner that does not confine to the established societal structures, for such individuals, such norms become extremely stressful as they find it excruciatingly painful to change their habits just to conform to the societal norms (Timothy & Ron, 2015).
Coming to the major factor that is to be analyzed through the course of this paper, it is vital that people understand that social contexts and factors influence eating patterns the most, specifically in adults. There is a diverse plethora of social aspects that irredeemably influence the eating patterns of adults. These factors encompass the hierarchal structure of society, the class divide, the ethnic backgrounds, the cultural preferences, the influence of peers and the undeniable opinions of individuals as per their religious beliefs. There is a direct as well as indirect flow of influence that varies as per the frequency of the beliefs of individuals (Robinson, Thomas, Aveyard, & Higgs, 2014).
Taking into consideration the young adult population of this generation, reports have stated that a considerable shift occurs in the eating behaviors of young adults when they start socializing extensively. Researchers have claimed that young adults are exclusively influenced by the nearest social and within that, cultural factors (Cohen, 2021). The most influential factors of their lives that help them in identifying a structured eating patterns are their parents, guardians, caregivers and peers. Behavioral theories, as propounded by famous theorist over the past years suggest that social relationship influence health behaviors as well as eating behaviors of individuals. For instance, as per the socio-cultural theory of cognitive development, as propounded by Lev Vygotsky, suggests that the social factors extremely influence the psychological development of individuals, which, in turn, affects the various behavioral patterns that the individuals develop over the years. Similarly, the Social ecological theory states that the immediate social as well as environmental factors impact an individual’s behavioral patterns (Steeves, et al., 2016).
It has been established by numerous researches that human beings find mimicking inherently rewarding, which, in turn, gives birth to the tendency of adapting the behavioral patterns of other individuals. Shared cultural beliefs also impact eating behaviors extremely (Higgs & Thomas 2016). Over the years, human beings have kept spiraling into their process of finding new emerging niches wherein they can restrict their beliefs regarding various things, and food consumption has somehow ended up becoming one of the niches wherein human beings can implement their perspectives and then follow them as a group, under the umbrella of culture, tradition or ethnic backgrounds. These beliefs are accepted by the world, but they start harming the process of individual frameworks of eating behaviors when they are strictly and rigorously forced down the throats of those who are from a similar background but do not share the belief of the community (Chen, Huang, & Shao, 2017).
Cultural Impacts on Eating Behaviors
The formation of norms regarding the process of food consumption have impacted the lives of numerous citizens of the world. For instance, in some cultures, pork cannot be consumed and the consumption of it is ‘frowned upon’, the same is the matter with the consumption of beef. Now, this process of ‘frowning upon’, in the recent years, has developed an entirely new form of definition where community members who rigorously and adamantly follow the beliefs are unnecessarily rude or bothersome towards those who do not believe in these perspectives. This new narrative of communal restrictions upon consumption of specific food items, as it harms the cultural discourse and age long customs of the communities have harmed the eating patterns of those individuals who do not subscribe to a cultural or communal notion of eating behaviors. The discourse that comes out of this process is the ultimate boycotting of specific individuals who express their right to consume whatever they wish for. There have also been instances where communities have gathered and marched against the consumption of specific food items. This one discourse clearly explains how eating behaviors are immensely influenced by social factors and contexts (Ding Ding, Ploeg, Stamatakis, & Bauman, 2015).
Other than this particular factor, another factor that should be kept in consideration is the narrative discourse of those people who follow these practices of holding on to one dietary belief so adamantly. Studies have shown that human beings tend to converge and focus on synchronizing to the dietary consumptions of their surroundings and the people that encompass their immediate surroundings. Matching certain specific norms such as eating behaviors involves an elaborate process wherein people start mimicking the acts of their fellows (Ma, 2015). In such cases, as communal beliefs regarding the consumption and adamant strictness against the consumption of certain products, it should be understood by people that people who are bound by ethnic background that follows a lineage of similar traditions, it becomes a part of their own heritage. And as a result, there is a development of a belief that their tradition has a hold over them and they have a hold over their tradition as well. This thought process leads to the construction of a belief that the individual identity fades somehow when one is considering the concepts of communal beliefs. This strong sense of holding on to communal beliefs is mostly found in the adults, people ranging from the age of 40-60 (Schösler, Boer, Boersema, & Aiking, 2015). Here, at this point, it becomes important to sneak a look at the psychology behind the construction of these adamant beliefs. It is not an unknown fact that adults are extremely attached with their cultural beliefs and, with age, this factor starts influencing them more and more with every passing day. While they are on the lower end of the spectrum, nutritionally, a sense of ethnic enterprise flourishes in them. Throughout the world, distinct food consumption patterns can be seen. These patterns develop in accordance with the ethnicity as well as geographical locations. The factor of culture plays an extremely crucial role here as it becomes a defining factor in the development of a set pattern of framework regarding eating behaviors of an entire community. For the adults, this becomes a part of their lineage, a heritage that they want to leave behind, a heritage ta they want their upcoming generations to follow as rigidly as they did (Tiedje, et al., 2014).
Social Contexts and Factors
Apart from the cultural factors of influence on eating behaviors, a notable mention should also be made to the factors that influence the entire world together, socially. The factor that is being signaled here is the global crisis of the covid-19 pandemic. There is empirical evidence that reveals that during the covid-19 pandemic, the eating behaviors and food consumption patterns of individuals all over the world saw a major shift as the pandemic forced the entire world into a lockdown where there was no abundance of food, where the options for consumption were limited extensively and people had to rely on whatever food options, they had available in their houses. Undoubtedly, the time can when people were once again able to consume as per their choices but the first year of the pandemic was extremely brutal. Additionally, as due to the lockdowns, there was a certain restriction on the physical movements of individuals, a 2021 repot shows that due to the lockdown restrictions, the rate of global obesity was disproportionately affected. During the lockdown of April-May in 2020, adults in UK were drastically affected by stress-eating which led to an unfair increase in the obesity rate of the individuals of UK (Robinson, et al., 2021).
In conclusion, it can be stated that the eating behaviors of individuals are severely affected by the social factors as well as cultural contexts. The present paper analyzed the various factors such as biology, economy and psychology that influence an individual’s eating patterns. It evaluated the various aspects of these factors that impact an individual’s decision-making process regarding the food consumption choices. The paper then focused on the social factors that influence eating behaviors of individuals as well as communities. The paper discussed how certain shared communal as well as cultural beliefs lead to the construction of a structure of eating patterns that in influenced by the social context. Towards the end, the paper mentioned how the covid-19 pandemic also had a drastic affect on the eating behaviors of individuals in the past few years.
References
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