What does poor nutrition mean? Poor nutrition is essentially a term for a diet that has insufficient nutrition, or lacks essential nutrients. Specifically, nutrients are chemical substances that are absorbed by the body through the process of digestion. Typically, people think of “junk food” like candy bars, sugary sweets, and soda (simple carbohydrates) as foods that contain poor nutrients. For many teenagers, these types of foods are a dietary staple. Unfortunately, the consequences of poor nutrition are considerable. Eating low-nutrient food, especially in large amounts, can lead to being overweight or obese. It can also lead to diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure, heart disease, gallstones, sleep apnea, and depression.

Fast food has become a major source of nutrition across the United States. Fast food is highly processed, usually deep-fried in partially hydrogenated oils (or trans fats). Combined with starchy vegetables and sugary drinks, these foods have a high glycemic load, which contributes to obesity and diabetes. As you saw in your warm-up activity, the amount of calories present in fast-food meals is often much higher than you would expect. Were you surprised by any of the calorie amounts in the foods in the warm-up activity?

Foods that are high in sugar and fat tend to be high in calories and low in vitamins and minerals. For example, a candy bar contains approximately three hundred calories, zero grams of fiber, six grams of fat, forty-four grams of carbohydrates, two grams of protein, and scant amounts of vitamins A, B1, B2, and C. Because the candy bar contains little amounts of vitamins and minerals, it is said to be a low-nutrient food, or “empty calories.” Can you think of other foods that might be considered as having “empty calories”?

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Eating Disorders and Fad Diets

Eating too little, too much, or without variety can have many health consequences that affect your physical and mental health. Eating too little can also deny your body essential nutrients. For example, skipping meals will lower the amount of carbohydrates you consume. Carbohydrates supply your body with the calories needed to walk, run, talk, and even think. When the body is starved, it begins to use its stored energy, found in fat reserves. Once your body thinks it is starving, it will lower its metabolism to keep it from burning needed calories. If starvation is prolonged, other tissues may be metabolized, such as muscle mass. Your heart can even be affected since it is a muscle. Unchecked starvation can result in irreparable tissue damage or death.

One eating disorder that is extremely dangerous is anorexia nervosa. This disorder shows itself in individuals who purposely starve themselves because they see themselves as overweight. Although the cause of this disorder is unclear, the danger is not. These individuals run the risk of starving themselves to death if not treated. It is vital they get the assistance they desperately need.

Eating When You Are Not Hungry

Just as eating too little can cause health problems, so can eating too much. To understand some important issues regarding food, you need to think about why you eat. There are two important terms that are related to eating: hunger and appetite. Appetite refers to a desire for food, and hunger is your body telling you to eat. When hunger and appetite work together, you have a nice balance. But if you let appetite drive your eating behavior, you eat even when you are not hungry. When some people are depressed, they eat because they think they will feel better. People who suffer from binge eating may eat a lot of food at one time, then feel bad after doing so. Some, but not all, binge eaters may also be bulimic, meaning they purge their bodies of the food they have just eaten. Other people refuse to eat when they are depressed. Some people eat out of habit. They eat dinner at 5 p.m., whether they are hungry or not. All these reasons for eating help explain why so many people have trouble managing their weight.

It is important to pay attention to your own hunger gauge to properly fuel your body. To improve your mental and physical health, it may help to avoid excessive caffeine, refined sugars, or unhealthy fats. If you have a food allergy, your body has an immune reaction against a certain allergen in the food. If you have a food intolerance, your body has an adverse reaction to a food; however, it does not affect your immune system. If you have a food allergy or food intolerance, it is important to avoid the foods that contain the allergens.

In order to lose or gain weight quickly, it may be tempting to resort to a fad diet. You may have heard of people who eat only meat for a period of time, or who eliminate other food groups entirely from their diets. While these diets, at first, may result in some weight loss or weight gain, depending on the particular goal, they rarely can be sustained for a long period of time. Furthermore, fad diets can restrict you from eating certain foods, which may be important in giving you the nutrients you need to carry through your daily activities, to keep your basic body processes functioning, and to keep your mental health clear. For example, without adequate intake of healthy fats, your skin and hair can become severely dry and unhealthy, and certain organs must have healthy fats to work properly. Carbohydrates help your brain function, so a severe decrease can hinder your ability to think clearly and to be in a good mood. Remember, diets that promise to give you quick results, sound too good to be true, are based on few studies, eliminate whole food groups, or promote a certain product are more than likely fad diets. The best way to manage weight is to consult your doctor and get advice on what you need for your body to be healthy. Exercise and good nutrition are always keys to a healthy weight.

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