NTS 135 Chapter 1

Cost and Economics

As income increases, so do meals eaten away from home and preferences for foods such as cookies, chocolate, cheese, and meat

Routines and habits

Recent surveys indicate that the most commonly purchased foods in America are milk (about 23 gallons per person yearly), ready-to-eat cereal, bottled water (about 34 gallons per year), soft drinks (nearly 41 gallons per year), and bread (about 53 pounds per year)

risk factor

a term used when discussing aspects such as heredity, lifestyle, and nutritional choices that contribute to the development of disease

theory

an explanation of a phenomenon that has numerous lines of evidence by different researchers to support it

Moderation

especially necessary for consuming fried foods

Time and convenience

lifestyle that limits the amount of time spent in food preparation

Marketing and advertising

major media tool for capturing the food interest of the consumer. Consumers have more food choices than ever and these choices are well advertised in newspapers and magazines, on billboards, radio, television, and online

Restaurant dining

often calorie dense, in large portions, and of poorer nutritional quality compared to foods made at home; menus typically emphasize meat, cheese, fried foods, and carbonated beverages

Early influences

related to various people, places, and events have a continuing impact on our food choices. Many food customs, including ethnic diet patterns, begin as we are introduced to foods during childhood

steaming

the healthiest method for cooking vegetables

Flavor, texture, and appearance

the most important factors determining our food choices

hunger

the primarily physiological drive (internal) to find and eat food

appetite

the primary psychological influences (external) that encourage us to find and eat food, often in the absence of obvious hunger

satiety

the state or feeling in which there is no longer a desire to eat