My Frequency, Amount, And Type Of Intake Of Junk Foods

By Heidy Uno

Gathering, Organizing, And Memorizing Health Information Facts In The Area Of Food Behavior

There were so many sub-topics that appealed to me that I really didnt know where to start. There were so many different topics that could have been applied to me. After many days of trying to choose a sub-topic, I finally narrowed it down to a few from each behavior area. From the Food Behavior Area I had chosen two sub-topics about eating behavior. The first was my frequency amount, and type of intake of junk foods and the other was my emotional involvement with eating or cravings. From the Hygiene Behavior Area I chose keeping my area clean which included things like my desk, room, apartment, car, house, etc. From the Exercising Behavior Area I chose my daily or weekly exercise routine.

Since I didnt know what sub-topic I was going to write about, I thought Id get some information about the sub-topics I was really interested in. On the first day of researching I went to Sinclair Library with a few friends. I used OPAC with the help of a friend and the friendly librarian. I didnt know what I was looking for so I typed in key words like food, exercise, hygiene, nutrition, food behavior, exercise behavior, and emotions. OPAC lists the topic in general. If you wanted to look further into a subject you would punch in the corresponding number and a list of book titles would appear. Books from both libraries were listed in the computer. When you wanted to return to the main screen, you just punch in another button to continue scanning. Most of the information the computer came up with sounded interesting except for hygiene. All OPAC had on that topic were all from periodicals and listed only the practices of different countries. A few books were even written in German! There really wasnt much information on the topic so I dropped it. Now I only had three more to go. I kept working on the computer and writing down the interesting titles to look up later.

Finally after about an hour on the computer, I had a sub-topic for my paper: My frequency, amount and type of intake of junk foods. This topic sounded interesting and it reflects my current source of food.

Next, I went to Hamilton Library to use Info Trac. I went with a couple of friends from class. One of my friends already knew how to use the computer, so he showed us how. This computer has listings of periodicals like magazines and newspaper articles. You type in the topic you want and the computer shows you all the different articles listed by titles. I looked at a few of these magazine articles but most only told how to lose all your extra weight and listed fail-proof diets. I needed information on food not diets.

Later I browsed through LCSH (The Library of Congress Subject Headings) under the previous headings like food and nutrition. But I didnt find anything that I already had from OPAC and InfoTrac.

I really didnt know the library had all these things! Whenever I did go to the library I would use the card catalog only and get the book I needed. I never bothered to look around at all the other places in the library. Only OPAC was visible from the entrance of both libraries. InfoTrac at Hamilton Library was sort of hidden away from the general public (meaning me). I never did go into all those adjoining rooms to find out what was there. I never noticed the LCSH because I thought it was a section in the library, not a book. I guess I never really used the library very efficiently or wisely. Now that I know where all the different resources are I think I wont be so hesitant about going to the library to find the information I need for future papers.

Justifying Health Information Facts As Personal Beliefs

Junk foods--what is it? According to Lila Perl, junk food is anything that has too much additives such as sodium nitrate and sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite, synthetic additives to prevent spoilage, and all the fortified vitamins and minerals that the food industry puts into our foods making them highly nutritious and enriched. Junk food is also characterized as having too much sugar, salt and fat. You wouldnt eat the contents of 20 5-pound bags of sugar but Americans consume more than a hundred pounds of sucrose (a form of refined cane or beet sugar) each year. About 70% of it comes from the processed foods we buy--candies to ketchup, cereals to canned soups, soft drinks to salad dressings. Junk fluids (sodas and other soft drinks) contribute most of the sugar we get, nearly 25%. Processors have been adding salt to the foods they make as a flavoring as well as a preservative. Each year Americans consume more than enough salt, most of the foods we eat having a sodium content in it. Saturated fats and cholesterol are the major causes of heart disease and strokes in many Americans. Most of these fats come from cooking oils, butter or margarine, and the meats we eat.

All of these processing mistakes by the food industry are in part due to inventions or discoveries of canning, refrigeration, freezing, and food processing. So to make a person feel a little less guilty, no one is blaming them for eating the way that they do. But eating so much junks seems like an American culture since new food innovations have been passed on from generation to generation.

It wasnt hard for me to accept the facts I had gathered. I already knew from all those magazines that all the junk food I eat isnt good for me. But I dont want to give it up because it is more convenient to go to McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell or even on campus at the Campus Center. I can even walk into a store and find dozens of different snack items that all vie for my attention. Buying a hamburger and fries sometimes tasted better than the things I would cook at home. My eating habits were pretty bad especially when I am in school. I end up eating all kinds of fattening and less nutritious foods like candy bars, soda, chips, and cookies on top of the hamburgers and tacos that these fast food restaurants offer.

Now that I have a reason to cut out some of the junk foods I eat daily, maybe I can actually reduce the amount I eat. And start eating more nutritious and less fattening foods.

I tried to get my friends to go on this diet with me so if I felt like giving up they could help me get back on the right track. I showed them the books and told them that it would help me if I had some motivation and not see them eat all that junk food. They tried to help me at first but the junk foods won out and I was left to battle this on my own.

The graphs included show that there was some resistance from me especially in the first two weeks. I couldnt get hamburgers and M&Ms out of my mind. But as the weeks went on, I started to gain confidence and started to eat less junk foods.

Integrating Health Information Facts Into My Daily Life

My baseline-intervention was to reduce the intake of junk food from my current diet during the school hours, which seems to be the time that I eat the most junk foods, like candy, sodas, and burgers.

To start it off, I started cooking at home more often. I cooked dinner three times a week--Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I would try to cook things like fried chicken and eat more fruits and vegetables. I ate and prepared more vegetables that I normally dont eat--cucumbers, zucchini and tomatoes--and also ate more of my favorites-broccoli, cauliflower, bean sprouts, and lettuce. Id bring left-over dinner to school for lunch to avoid getting a hamburger at Campus Center. If I had fried chicken for dinner the night before I would debone the chicken and take off the skin and eat it with rice.

Now I have my breakfast at home instead of buying at the Campus Center. Normally I eat eggs benedict or french toast until I found out that even these were considered junk foods by Lila Perl. Sometimes this didnt always work cause I would eat some kind of junk food anyway. This would happen when I didnt have dinner at home and had to go to work right after school.

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