88 Unit 2 Nutrition and Food Choices
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Poor Nutrition
Healthy eating plans identify the amounts
and types of food individuals should consume
to obtain the nutrients needed for good health.
These plans have been developed to help in-
dividuals avoid the problems associated with
poor nutrition, or malnutrition, which includes
both undernutrition and overnutrition.
Undernutrition
When people do not receive the needed nu-
trients from the food they eat, they experience
undernutrition. This means they take in too
few nutrients for health and growth.
Healthy eating is especially important for
children and teenagers, since the body under-
goes considerable growth and development
during these life stages. Undernutrition can
lead to growth problems; children who don’t
receive enough nutrients may never reach
their full height. Undernutrition can also lead
to serious and even life-threatening problems,
including brain damage, impaired vision and
blindness, and bone deformities.
Undernutrition during pregnancy affects
the health of the fetus. When a woman who is
pregnant doesn’t consume suffi cient nutrients,
the growing fetus may not receive enough nu-
trients to develop properly.
Overnutrition
Although many people think about poor
health in terms of not getting enough nutrients,
poor health can also be caused by consum-
ing too much of some nutrients. This type of
overnutrition is often caused by people eat-
ing too many foods that contain high amounts
of added sugar, solid fat, sodium, or refi ned carbohydrates, or simply too
many calories.
Foods high in solid fats, added sugars, refi ned grains, and sodium are
believed to contribute to a variety of health conditions. For instance, evi-
dence suggests that as an individual’s sodium intake decreases, so does his
or her blood pressure. Maintaining a normal blood pressure reduces the
risk of heart and kidney diseases.
undernutrition
a condition in which the
body takes in too few
nutrients for health and
growth; malnutrition
overnutrition
a condition in which the body
takes in too many foods with
too much sugar content, solid
fat, sodium, and calories
Advertisements for Unhealthy Foods t f U h
Health
in the Media
The average child watching
children’s television programming
sees an estimated 10,000 TV
commercials for food products in a
year. Unfortunately, most of these
advertisements are for foods with
poor nutritional content.
• about 91% are for foods or
beverages that are high in fat,
sodium, or added sugars
(foods with “empty calories”)
• nearly 60% are for products that exceeded the criteria
for added sugars
• about 20% exceeded other guidelines, including those
for total fat, saturated plus trans fat, and sodium
• none of the advertisements are for beverages that
meet nutritional guidelines
Not surprisingly, children who see advertisements
for unhealthy food on TV are more likely to want to eat
high-fat and high-sugar foods. Researchers in one study
showed children an episode of a popular cartoon. Some
children saw fi ve minutes of commercials for toys before
the cartoon, while another group saw fi ve minutes of
commercials for snacks and fast food.
After watching the cartoon, researchers gave the
children a list of various food items and asked them to
choose which ones they would like to eat. The children who
saw the food commercials were more likely to pick unhealthy
foods than children who saw the toy commercials.
Thinking Critically
1. Present a convincing argument for reducing the number
of unhealthy food advertisements shown on television.
Cite evidence from the study mentioned above and this
chapter. Incorporate your argument into a letter to your
congressperson asking him or her to support these efforts.
2. Generate a list of strategies that could be used to
avoid the infl uence of these advertisements.