How We Eat

   A 1986 Gallup Poll shows that American food consumers fall into four groups:

1. Traditional eaters – 37%. These individuals consume almost anything - french fries, TV dinners, soda, etc.

2. Weigh conscious – 28%. These individuals are on low calorie diets and consume artificial sweeteners and raw vegetables.

3. Health conscious – 19%. These are the individuals that eat whole foods and are concerned with nutrition.

4. Uncommitted – 16%. These are the people who don’t even think about what they eat.

A possible fifth group is a combination of all four. These people in this group may be any of the above, depending upon the time of day, day of the week, where they eat (home or out), or other factors.

A hundred or so years ago, group four may have been the healthiest group. Back then, most of the food available was healthy, so it wasn’t as necessary to think carefully about eating. Today, however, we are forced to think about what we eat, how we eat it, as well as when and why – at least if we want to be healthier.