Choices, Choices, and More Choices

Is there anything behind the choices we make when it comes to food? The answer is YES. The top three driving factors behind our food choices are taste, price, and convenience (Sizer & Whitney, 2014) but there are other factors that are less obvious that are driving people's choices every day. Can you think about a time when you ate at a restaurant based on the type of food it served because you had a friend who wanted to introduce you to a new dish? That is an example of social reasons behind a food choice, and these social reasons can be made even deeper with the cultural impact of what it truly means to share with a friend your culture through different foods, and when the food is accepted this gives us the impression that we as well are accepted (Sizer & Whitney, 2014). So if food choices can be based on sharing socially and culturally, which go beyond the taste, price, and convenience, what are some other less considered driving factors? Here are a few psychological, physical, social, and philosophical factors that drive every individual's choice in some way or another:
Advertising
Availability
Emotional Comfort
Habit
Personal Preference and/or Genetic Inherantance
Positive and/or Negative Associations
Region of a Country
Values or Beliefs
Weight
Nutritional and/or Health Benefits
(Sizer & Whitney, 2014)

(Administrator, Factors affecting food choice)

While all of these factors may come together to influence your food choices, I do urge you to be mindful of what your body needs in order to remain healthy, because you are what you eat. Therefore, if you wish to be healthy, you must eat healthy foods.

References

Administrator. (Producer). (2005, Aug 01). Factors affecting food choice [Web Graphic]. Retrieved from http://worksite-obesity.blogspot.com/ 

Sizer, F., & Whitney, E. (2014). Nutrition - concepts and controversies. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.  

The Misanthropic Yogini. (Producer). (2011, January 26). Food for thought [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.damngoodyoga.com/2011/01/food-for-thought.html