Warning: Health-endangering and Unhealthy Patterns of Eating Habits

There are many health problems and conditions which are directly related to a person's eating habits-- everything from weight problems to cancer is linked to what one puts into one's system. However, there is a disturbing trend growing in popularity which is an even more deciding factor in both short-term and long-term health; and it is an issue which should be taken seriously.

"I'm hungry- but I don't know what I'm hungry for." This comment, heard frequently from adults, teens, and even children, is an accurate assessment of this problem-- the person is not saying, as it may sound, that he does not know 'why' he is 'hungry,' but that his physical system and his mental process which should connect to it are already so "out of tune" that he does not even register the difference between "hungry" and "cravings." He or she may continue, to point out various food products, and state "that isn't what I am hungry for."

What accounts for this oddity are some health-endangering eating habits which to many people are a part of their lifestyle; unfortunately they do not recognize that these habits are the most strongly-contributing factor to both a general sense of feeling "less than up-to-par" as well as the serious consequences such habits will likely have on their overall health in the longrun.

These habits seem to be much more prominent in some geographical locations than in others; and, with that factor leading it to be a lifestyle, it's uncertain as to how to make clear to people exactly how health-endangering it really is. Coming from a background where people usually "show up at the table and eat three meals per day," I personally was not familiar with this problem until a few years ago-- adults as well as youngsters who eat "what they crave," "when they feel like it" or "when they have time," and generally "on the run," and are completely in the dark about this lifestyle causing everything from aggravations about weight control to much more serious health complications.

People everywhere occasionally skip a meal, or grab a cup of coffee when they're in a hurry; but that is much different from having an ongoing lifestyle of going for extended periods of time without eating and basing one's food intake on cravings. With this lifestyle, not only is the body not getting what it needs, but, equally important, not getting it when it needs it. In not having any routine of "mealtimes," the obvious factor is that the system is not getting the proper nutrition; but the most important factor in not having any routine is that the system "runs on empty" for considerable periods of time-- which in turn leads many to "fill up" on foods which are unhealthy. At its worst, some resort to "energy drinks"-- consciously or not, attempting to "substitute" the effects of such products for the natural, healthy energy which one would normally have from eating meals on a regular basis. The effects can be compared to a hypoglycemic who goes for long periods of time without eating and then consumes products which are high in sugar-- resulting in an immediate "spike" of sugar in the bloodstream, and, shortly after, an even quicker "drop" in one's blood sugar.

People who have this lifestyle fall into either of two categories-- some may "graze" on various food products throughout the day and night; others simply do not eat at all until their bodies are basically fed-up with neglect, and then consume much too large quantities of food. Neither seem to realize that both patterns are a matter of abusing their bodies and sabotaging their health. Unfortunately, those who have developed such patterns, especially if they live in areas where most others have the same pattern, have trouble grasping the fact that the body needs proper nourishment on a regular basis. These folks are the ones who are most likely to be struggling with weight problems, as well as health conditions which are directly related to one's eating habits.

There are a number of factors which contribute to this problem. One is being in a locale where grazing and binging is the generally-accepted lifestyle-- with every excuse from "not having time" to eat on a regular basis to those who consider any form of "routine" to be restrictive. Another is the popular program where students are offered breakfast and lunch at school-- if they don't like what is being served, or would rather put the time into socializing with friends, many simply do not bother with the meals at all and set the pattern of "running on empty." Either way, the effects on one's health are very destructive.

A second-grade teacher wrote the word 'breakfast' on the chalkboard, dividing it into two parts: "break fast." She informed the six-year-olds that the primary purpose of the morning meal was to "break the fast"-- to give the body nutrition after the long period of time since the previous night's dinner. The point: one's entire system needs nourishment on a regular basis in order to function properly-- and although what a person consumes is important, the regularity of routine is even more important. The pattern of running on empty, binging, and eating on the basis of cravings, is one of the most destructive things one can do to one's health-- and it is a pattern which can be avoided and changed.