(EFC) Physical Factors Lesson

Physical Factors

Can you think of any other physical factors?

You are likely to make healthy food choices if you have knowledge and education about nutrients in different food. Knowledge about healthy eating will always inspire you to make healthy dietary choices. People know that fruits and veggies are healthy, but they just do not know how they can increase fruit and vegetable consumption in an affordable way. Similarly, the loss of cooking skills may also influence food choices people make.

Have you ever been so hungry that you will eat just about anything not tied down? Sometimes we are so convinced that we "need" a certain type of food that we will overindulge in that particular food; such as, chocolate. Even still, some of us will only eat certain foods out of concern for our appearance. Many fear potential consequences that food consumption may have on their body. Eating for these reasons can result in people not only choosing the wrong types of foods, but also eating too much or too little of those foods. 

Diets which exclude many foods due to a person's health concerns or for medical reason need to be planned carefully. For example, people who are lactose intolerant cannot eat some dairy products and so must make sure that they eat other foods that are good sources of calcium. How nutritious a particular food is will have an impact on food choices. People are more calorie conscious than ever, and agree that they make choices considering calorie content of specific food.

Hunger may be defined as that feeling of emptiness, weakness or pain caused by a lack of food. It becomes more intense as time passes, until we are able to think of little else but food.  Hunger is a physical need for food.

Accessibility to shops is another important physical factor influencing food choice, which is dependent on resources such as transportation and geographical location.   Studies indicate that the level of education can influence dietary behavior during adulthood. In contrast, nutrition knowledge and good dietary habits are not strongly correlated. This is because knowledge about health does not lead to direct action when individuals are unsure how to apply their knowledge.

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