What the World Eats

What Influences our Food Choices

Factors that Affect your Food Choices

Americans make an estimated 200-plus choices regarding food each day, according to Cornell University professor Brian Wansink. Factors you scarcely notice influence many of these decisions. Although the list of potential contributing factors is long, some are particularly common. Gaining an understanding of these factors may guide you toward making wiser overall choices, gaining improved wellness as a result.

Hunger

• Going too long between meals, skipping meals and eating too few overall calories all stimulate hunger, which can influence your food choices. In ancient times, say registered dietitian Sharon Palmer, hunger was often life-saving, prompting early humans to hunt and forage for food for survival. If you experience "starvation," as many dieters claim to, you may crave foods that provide dense amounts of fat, protein, carbohydrates and calories. If you skip breakfast, for example, you may be more likely to choose a juicy cheeseburger and French fries rather than soup or salad for lunch. Intense hunger and meal-skipping can also lead to larger portions, additional helpings and desire for dessert.

Palatability

• Palatability, or how pleasing you find particular foods, also influences your choices. Taste, smell, appearance and texture of the food, and your previous experience with the food, contribute to its palatability. A food that once gave you food poisoning, for example, may remain unpalatable, while a dish you have often enjoyed may seem continuously tantalizing. Visually pleasing foods, such as fresh strawberries drizzled with dark chocolate, may appeal more than a plain grapefruit or carrot. High-fat, sweet foods, such as pastries and ice cream, have an "undeniable sensory appeal," according to the European Food Information Council. Also, these foods more often lead to overeating.

Proximity

• Ready access to foods also affects your choices. Having foods at hand commonly linked with cravings, such as chips and chocolate, is particularly likely to increase your desire for them, according to Dietitians of Canada. Living near fast food restaurants may lead to eating meals at those venues more often. Similarly, keeping fresh fruit, vegetables and low-fat milk well-stocked in your refrigerator, rather than pastries and soft drinks, can result in routine healthier food choices.

Parental Factors

• Many children develop eating habits similar to those of their parents. If you were raised on a particular cuisine, such as Italian or Asian, for example, you may choose similar foods throughout your life. A parent's attitudes and behaviors related to food, particular a mother's, tend to have a significant impact on a child's dietary habits, according to a report published in the "British Journal of Nutrition" in 2008. If a mother diets or overeats repeatedly, for example, her child is likely to do so as well. Imposing harsh restrictions or rules on a child's food intake can lead to poor overall food choices, overeating and obesity.

Other Factors

• Psychological, Emotional, Social, Cultural, Economic, Geographical, Physical, and Religious.

“What the World Eats”

A photo-essay comparingfood-consumption and costs

Japan: The Ukita family of Kodaira City

• Food expenditure for one week: 37,699 Yen or $317.25

• Favorite foods: sashimi, fruit, cake, potato chips

The Ukita family of Kodaira City

Italy: The Manzo family of Sicily

• Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11

• Favorite foods: fish, pasta with ragu, hot dogs, frozen fish sticks

The Manzo family of Sicily

Chad: The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp

• Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23

• Favorite foods: soup with fresh sheep meat

The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp

China: The Dong family of Beijing

• Food expenditure for one week: 1,233.76 Yuan or $155.06

• Favorite foods: fried shredded pork with sweet and sour sauce

The Dong family of Beijing

Poland: The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna

• Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27

• Family recipe: Pig's knuckles with carrots, celery and parsnips

The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna

Egypt: The Ahmed family of Cairo

• Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53

• Family recipe: Okra and mutton

The Ahmed family of Cairo

United States: The Revis family of North Carolina

• Food expenditure for one week: $341.98• Favorite foods: spaghetti, potatoes, sesame

chicken

The Revis family of North Carolina

Mexico: The Casales family of Cuernavaca

• Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09

• Favorite foods: pizza, crab, pasta, chicken

The Casales family of Cuernavaca

Kuwait: The Al Haggan family of Kuwait City

• Food expenditure for one week: 63.63 dinar or $221.45

• Family recipe: Chicken biryani with basmati rice

The Al Haggan family of Kuwait City

Ecuador: The Ayme family of Tingo

• Food expenditure for one week: $31.55• Family recipe: Potato soup with cabbage

The Ayme family of Tingo

United States: The Caven family of California

• Food expenditure for one week: $159.18• Favorite foods: beef stew, berry yogurt

sundae, clam chowder, ice cream

The Caven family of California

Mongolia: The Batsuuri family of Ulaanbaatar

• Food expenditure for one week: 41,985.85 togrogs or $40.02

• Family recipe: Mutton dumplings

The Batsuuri family of Ulaanbaatar

Great Britain: The Bainton family of Cllingbourne Ducis

• Food expenditure for one week: 155.54 British Pounds or $253.15

• Favorite foods: avocado, mayonnaise sandwich, prawn cocktail, chocolate fudge cake with cream

The Bainton family of Cllingbourne Ducis

Bhutan: The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village

• Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03

• Family recipe: Mushroom, cheese and pork

The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village

Germany: The Melander family of Bargteheide

• Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07

• Favorite foods: fried potatoes with onions, bacon and herring, fried noodles with eggs and cheese, pizza, vanilla pudding

The Melander family of Bargteheide

THE END