Question 1
This study assumed
that either Americans are eating the "representative foods" or the
"typical foods" when completing their research. Do you believe that
as Americans we are on one side of the fence or the other? Or do we mix our
diet with both unhealthy and healthy choices? If Americans don't always choose
"typical foods," what conclusions can we draw from the study to
inform our clients?
posted by JociSchumann @ 10:32 AM
11 comments
11 Comments:
I think for the most part, even though moderation is generally the best answer, that American's are generally either in the typical or the representative foods groups. While there might be some good/bad choices made in each they overall diet of most people will fall into one of the two categories to a great extent than the other. However, if Americans don't always choose the typical foods then we can tell our clients that the study shows that the more you take from the typical choices and the less you take from the representative foods the more likely you will be to have an unbalanced diet with empty calories.
I agree that a large percentage of American's are either in the typical or representative group. However, I do feel that people try to make small, healthier changes such as adding a serving of fruit or veggies to meals or cutting down the amount of soda they drink. I think one of the best things we can do for our clients is to discuss commonly eaten foods that are higher in sodium or saturated fat, and provide a healthier alternative. An example given in the study that would be appropriate would be cooking beans or lentils from their dry form versus canned.
I think that by the way that the typical foods were selected ("generally the top contributor to intake of the food group from the cluster"), most Americans would fall into that category. Like Alana mentioned, some people are trying to make healthier changes, and I doubt any person's diet is made up of only typical foods. There are also those people make an effort to choose most of the food they eat from the representative group.
I think the study provides some powerful data to use as examples for why Americans are overweight and/or have trouble managing their weight. The typical food pattern provides roughly 500 more kcal/day than the nutrient dense foods, and, more importantly, provides about 400 more than the recommended kcal. The common differences in foods from the two categories such as added fat and salt can be small changes that we can recommend to clients to ease them towards healthier choices.
I think for the sake of this study, the easiest way to complete the research was to make two groups and put foods in one group or the other. However, I do not believe that people are one or the other. To classify everyone as either a healthy eater or an unhealthy eater is just inconceivable. I make good choices and I make bad choices and I know I make more good choices than bad but I would not consider myself definitely in the healthy group. I also do not like to classify foods as healthy or unhealthy. Certain foods are obviously healthier than others but there is room for everything in a person’s diet, people just need to know moderation. I see so many educations materials with the word “avoid” and it frustrates me. I think as dietitians we need to remember that people need to just limit certain foods… not completely avoid them. This study has great statistics to show patients or clients the benefits of choosing healthier options and you should choose the healthier options more often than the less healthy options.
I do not think that all Americans are on one side of the fence or the other. This reminds me of the idea that Dianne Feasley spoke about in our 402 class about people being obsessed, unconcerned, or balanced (healthy eaters). There are different percentages of the population that fit into each category of eating healthy and unhealthy foods and then some people who consume a combination of the two. I think it is key to promote a moderation factor in relation to consuming these added sugar and added fat foods.
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I like that Kelsey brought up the utility in grouping the population for the sake of the study.
However, I do think there is a large "grey area" when it comes to prudent vs. non-prudent diets. It is easy to think that most people are on one side or the other, especially given the profession we are in (we sometimes may get caught in the "we" vs. "them" trap).
I eat pounds of fruits and vegetables every day and have what many would call a very prudent diet; however, I also know that if I don't have my dark chocolate every day then I won't be a happy person. Likewise, I keep snack-packs of mini Oreos on hand and also consume them a few days per week. So, I feel like I kind of fall into that grey area. I think this is especially pertinent when it comes to grain desserts--there are a lot of people out there (stereotypically, women) who consume plenty of fruits and vegetables, yet consume more than their discretionary calories' worth in sweets every day.
To me this is an easy questions--of course we mix unhealthy and healthy choices, that's why we're trained to say, "All things in moderation". The ISSUE is when people consume more than their discretionary calories' worth in "unhealthy choices", especially if they haven't already reached their fruit and vegetable target.
I think 2 very simple conclusion that can be drawn after reading about this study and reading everyone's comments is that there is no perfect diet plan that will fit for everyone and that if desired, there is always room for improvement, even when people don't always choose "typical" foods. There is so much gray area that I don't personally believe that anyone fits in one category or the other, making it difficult to create a generalized diet plan that would make a large population healthier.
Emily- great way to sum it up. No one’s diet is perfect and what might be healthy for one person can be unhealthy for another. I think like Nate said, moderation is key.
I believe there is every spectrum of eater out there but, more typically, Americans tend to eat towards the "junk food" side. For some people it is simply a matter of truly not knowing the difference. I know a woman who was pretty low-income, low-education level that was consistently stuffing herself with chips and soda because her "doctor said I need nutrients for the baby". She truly thought there were nutrients in this junk food. That is a more extreme example, but there are plenty of food products out there that are promoted as "health foods" that have added fats and sugars. As a result, it is really hard to classify some people who make general attempts to eat healthy but lack the knowledge on how to do it.
I believe there is every spectrum of eater out there but, more typically, Americans tend to eat towards the "junk food" side. For some people it is simply a matter of truly not knowing the difference. I know a woman who was pretty low-income, low-education level that was consistently stuffing herself with chips and soda because her "doctor said I need nutrients for the baby". She truly thought there were nutrients in this junk food. That is a more extreme example, but there are plenty of food products out there that are promoted as "health foods" that have added fats and sugars. As a result, it is really hard to classify some people who make general attempts to eat healthy but lack the knowledge on how to do it.
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