Question

Assess the discussion of the psychosocial implications of having a healthcare professional identify poor eating habits or overnutrition.

Answer 1

Psychosocial

pertaining to the psychological development of the individual in relation to his or her social environment

Psychosocial implications

Psychosocial impact is defined as the effect caused by environmental and/or biological factors on individual’s social and/or psychological aspects.

In this article we are going to discuss about psychosocial implications of poor eating habits or overnutrition for college students based on the research

Social and psychological factors affecting eating habits among university students in a Malaysian medical school: a cross-sectional study.(Kurubaran ganasegaren et al)

Poor eating habits

Poor eating habits is a major public health concern among young adults who experienced transition into university life , during which, they are exposed to stress and lack of time. These factors pose a barrier against adoption of healthy behaviors, such as poor eating habits and substance abuse. Although these behaviors of students are considered temporary, as part of university life; unhealthy habits picked up at this age generally persist in older adult life.

Rapid changes in physical growth and psychosocial development have placed these young adults as nutritionally vulnerable groups with poor eating habits, that fails to meet dietary requirements. Environmental factors also contribute to adoption of unhealthy eating habits among university students. The mushrooming of shopping malls, convenience stores, vending machines and fast food outlets have created an alarming situation for young adults to practice unhealthy eating habits.

It has been assumed that medical students would practice healthy dietary habits compared to non-medical students. Some studies have found otherwise. A previous study in China revealed that medical students exhibited early risk factors for chronic diseases due to poor eating habits . It was found that although medical students had sufficient knowledge regarding good dietary habits, they failed to apply this knowledge into practice . Stress of university life and medical study load would be factors that negatively influence their diet.

This cross-sectional study was conducted among 140 medical students at a private university in Malaysia by using universal sampling.

Psychological factors affecting eating behavior

Nearly 48.5% ate because of feeling lonely, 62.1% felt completely out of control when it comes to food, 53.8% ate till stomach hurts, 53% ate because of feeling upset or nervous and 59.1% ate because of feeling bored.

The majority ate because of feeling happy (80.3%)

People living in a stressful society tend to eat more as a way of coping with stress

Psychological aspects of food

Psychological motives include feelings and emotions, which force us to eat and drink. They also include those that result from the very food and drink. The most important variations of feelings are natural hunger and thirst, taste and depth, the delight and disgust or loathing and disgust. The ability to experience and feel is unique and common only for human species. The content of the association associated with certain food or a situation that is reflected, however, is the result of individual experience. Individual experiance is incommunicable.

ATTITUDES TO FOOD. RITUALS.

Attitudes to food are shaped from an early age and are strongly influenced by environmental pressures. Family plays the main role, as well as the child‘s individuality, which is given by temperament, conscious qualities, emotion and experience of the child with food.

PREFERENCES AND AVERSIONS

These two mechanisms help all living creatures to eat, to survive, but also to avoid harmful substances that may harm or even kill. Part of these characteristics are innate, part of them are created by individuals during their lives.

EMOTIONS AND FOOD

It is clear that emotions are also linked to our digestion. Nutrition education, attitudes towards food, cooking and rating, these are all inextricably linked with emotions. Food calms us. We rejoice a baby with food when it fell and scraped its knee. Food could be a reward or a gift.

Social aspects of food

There is little doubt that food occupies a solid and important point in mankind history.

A table is a kind of mirror of period in which we live, it is a a scale of civilizational maturity.

Food and eating are usually mentioned only in connection with the satisfaction of physiological needs. In addition to the maintenance function, food performs an important social, cultural and communicative functon.

We forget that man is primarily a social creature, and therefore all its activities, including food intake are influenced by human societies. Effects of social environment on the feeding behavior, nutritional habits and customs of individuals can be classifi ed into three categories:

1. infl uences of family,

2. social infl uences outside the family,

3. effects of the media and cultural environment.