Eating Behaviour - DVD segment 6

by Meagan Bone

In this segment we begin to take a look at our eating habits and what influences them.

When the women in our survey and on the video were asked to define healthy eating, here’s what some of them had to say:

“Healthy eating behaviours is knowing when your body needs to replenish and allowing yourself to do so. By the term healthy I assume I myself would eat a piece of meat for dinner with a helping of vegetables for example; three square meals a day with light snacking between classes.”108

“Not extreme - neither too much nor too little; lots of fruits and veggies; balanced meals; able to moderately indulge in your fave treats once in a while; enjoying good food with or without company.”181

“Unhealthy eating behaviours to me would be to either overeat to an extreme or to undereat or starve yourself to anorexia or death. Overeating is unhealthy, especially high fattening foods because it could lead to obesity. Starving yourself; binging and dieting; can lead to other problems, which is extremely unhealthy as well. Unhealthy eating behaviours can also be viewed to me as something someone does to diet. Not starve themselves, but simply even just skip meals on a regular basis.” 112

" Healthy eating for me is making sure, for myself, that I have a regimen and trying to eat three meals a day and some snacks.”Kat on video

“I believe unhealthy eating is either overeating unhealthy food too often, more than 3 times a week, like fast food, chips, candy etc. These foods can be eaten but within moderation. For example, I don't believe one should eat chocolate bars everyday. I also believe over-dieting or starving yourself is unhealthy. If you eat healthier foods and exercise moderately, there should be no need for dieting.”104

“For healthy eating, one must consume a variety of food over a day to get the different nutrients and minerals that are needed for the body. Healthy eating means limiting the diet to the proper types of fats and oils, and eating only what you need to feel satiated. Along with eating the proper types of food, you need to make sure that you don't skip any meals, or at least not on purpose or often because it can hurt the body. Basically, I think healthy eating is home cooked meals with meat, vegetables and grains and making sure you get lots of milk and water to drink. You should avoid eating too much fast food and only eat amounts that your body can manage.”189

Eating: Your Needs, Your Feelings, and Your Rules

When it comes to eating, certain nutrients such as vitamins and minerals are important for everyone. Karrin the Dietitian will go into all of that in great detail in the segment comin up. For now, a great way to think of eating is fuelling your body. Just as you wouldn’t expect a car to run without gas, our bodies cannot function and perform effectively without the proper nutrients. However, everyone’s eating patterns are different. Our individual needs vary as a function of physical activity, our moods, the season, our food preferences, and our schedules. Individuals may also differ in the amount of food they need to feel satisfied and how frequently they need to eat.