What Are Healthy Eating Habits and Unhealthy Eating Habits?

Nutrition is the process of taking in and utilizing food. It is a three-step process that gives the body the nutrients it needs. First, you eat or drink food. Second, your body breaks the food down into nutrients. Third, the nutrients travel through the bloodstream to various parts of the body where they are used to sustain life. Nutritional deficiencies are the lack of nutrients needed by your body.

Habits can be hard to break. So if you establish healthy eating habits at a young age, you'll reap the benefits all of your life. On the other hand, if you decide you've got plenty of time to worry about your health and put off the worrying until well into adulthood, you will find it difficult to break unhealthy eating habits.

HEALTHY EATING HABITS

What will you gain by developing healthy eating habits? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),

■ eating right helps you grow, develop, and do well in school;

■ eating right prevents childhood health problems, including obesity, eating disorders, dental problems, and anemia (iron deficiency); and

■ eating right may help prevent health problems later in life, including heart disease, cancer and stroke-the three leading causes of death.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USD A) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) publish dietary guidelines that suggest Americans eat:

■ a variety of grains daily, especially whole grains;

■ a variety of fruits and vegetables daily;

■ a diet that is low in saturated fat and cholesterol and moderate in total fat;

■ foods and beverages that contain less sugars; and

■ foods and beverages that contain less salt.

POOR EATING HABITs

Eating unhealthy foods may seem easier or more fun than eating right, but there are consequences. The CDC warns:

• Hungry children are more likely to have behavioral, emotional, and academic problems at school.

• Poor eating habits and inactivity are the root causes of weight problems and obesity. The percentage of young people who are overweight has almost doubled in the past 20 years.

• Eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia - which can cause severe health problems and even death-are increasingly common among young people.

• Nutritional deficiencies in the diet and inactivity cause at least 300,000 deaths among U.S. adults each year.

The percentage of overweight young people (ages six to 17) has been rising sharply for decades.