Generations of Bad Eating Habits...






Throughout our lives and generation after generation we've passed on our eating habits to those coming up behind us. 

My generation grew up during the fast food explosion. I remember the family taking a picnic to the park with a bucket full of our favorite fried chicken with all the trimmings. This was what was to be the beginning of my love affair with fast food. Already, convenience was turning the tides of the family dinner table and as a kid—I couldn't have been more thrilled!

In kind, when I became a mother, I passed on this idea and began taking my children to the place with the coolest toys. They are grown up now, but we still have an entire box of collected toys. I'm hoping one day we'll be able to turn that box into the best thing about our eating experiences all those years ago. 

Today there is a shift that's trending toward homemade packed treats for the park with healthy nutrient packed goodies. This is an extraordinary change in the right direction. 

I find that I'm looking forward to the new frame of mind and am excited for how these healthy changes will impact the paths of the next generation. As we slowly move into a society that's teaching our youngsters to know where their food comes from I am cautiously optimistic. 

In a recent study by Penn State, "they found that children’s weight gain between fifth and eighth grades was not associated with the introduction or the duration of exposure to competitive food sales in middle school." and they concluded  that, "One possible explanation is that children’s food preferences and dietary patterns are firmly established before adolescence.

Looking into my own dietary history; I can pinpoint the very moment where I began to use fast food as a tool of convenience. Opting to grab and go rather than fixing a healthy option in my kitchen. It was during those first few years of adult freedom. I was on the go a lot and found fast food to be an easy option. I didn't worry about the consequences because I was so active. I was setting up my generational legacy without even knowing it.

Determining ones generational dietary path can be tricky. We have to open up and discover where our relationships with food come from and how we're going to change them for future generations.

Hindsight being 20/20, I have decided to take a deeper look into my pathways of nutrition. My children are beginning to adopt the new changes and that is where the proof is in the pudding. Hopefully, they will not repeat my mistakes?





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