The Importance of
Nutrition (1:38)
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Learning to make healthful food
choices will keep you healthy
throughout your life.
nutrition
nutrients
calorie
hunger
appetite
Why Nutrition Matters
The food you eat affects your health and
quality of life.
Healthful foods provide fuel for physical
activities, help you stay mentally alert, and keep
you looking and feeling your best.
Why Nutrition Matters
To make healthful food choices, you must first
learn about nutrition.
Nutrition
The process by which your body
takes in and uses food
Why Nutrition Matters
Your body relies on food to provide it with
nutrients.
Nutrients
Substances in food that your body
needs to grow, to repair itself, and
to supply you with energy
Why Nutrition Matters
The energy your body receives from food is
measured in calories.
Calorie
A unit of heat used to measure
the energy your body uses and
the energy it receives from food
Why Nutrition Matters
Eating a variety of healthful foods can help you
avoid unhealthful weight gain and diseases such
as type 2 diabetes.
Why Nutrition Matters
Cardiovascular
disease
Eating a variety of Certain cancers
healthful foods can
lower your risk of
developing other
conditions, including: Stroke
Osteoporosis
What Influences Your Food Choices?
A variety of factors influence food choices.
When you make food choices, you need to
understand what influences you.
Hunger and Appetite
One reason people eat is hunger.
Hunger
The natural physical drive to eat,
prompted by the body’s need for food
Hunger and Appetite
A second reason people eat is appetite.
Appetite
The psychological
desire for food
Food and Emotions
Sometimes people eat in response to an emotional
need, like when they feel stressed, frustrated,
lonely, or sad.
In other cases, people may snack out of boredom
or use food as a reward.
Food and Emotions
Some people engage in “mindless eating,” which is
snacking continuously while absorbed in another
activity.
Food and Emotions
Recognizing how emotions affect your eating can
help you break such patterns and reconnect your
eating with real hunger.
Food and Your Environment
Family and
culture Friends
Environmental
Influences
Time and
Advertising
money
Food and Your Environment
Seeing what your friends and peers eat can
influence your own food choices.
After You Read
Reviewing Facts and Vocabulary
1. Name three health problems that good
nutrition can help you avoid.
Any three: unhealthful weight gain, type 2
diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke,
certain cancers, osteoporosis
After You Read
Reviewing Facts and Vocabulary
2. What is the difference between hunger
and appetite?
Hunger is the physical drive to eat when
the body needs food. Appetite is the
psychological desire for food, not based on
physical need.
After You Read
Reviewing Facts and Vocabulary
3. Identify two emotions that influence
eating when someone isn’t hungry.
Any two emotions, such as those
mentioned in the text (e.g., stress,
loneliness, boredom)
