Nutrition and Food Chemistry

Nutrition and Psychology

Psychology has been applied to the field of sports so that athletes can maximize their ability on the playing field and to the legal system so that the validity of eyewitness memory can be better understood. Businesses have long relied on psychologists for selection methods and tests for personnel, yet one discipline has yet to be tapped the field of nutrition. As is true of exercise, eating is a behaviour important for optimal health. Eating meets basic biological needs, yet many people suffer health problems due to poor eating choices. For example, some people eat too much food for their level of activity and gradually become obese. Others restrict their food intake severely, resulting in serious health problems and even death. Drastically limiting food intake is often motivated by psychosocial factors such as a misguided desire to improve physical appearance or to enhance athletic performance. Good nutritional practices and weight control are two related but different issues in health psychology. Positive health behaviors include eating all necessary nutrients while preventing an accumulation of excess body fat. Body weight can be lost through starvation, but this is dangerous to health and results in undesirable losses of muscle and bone mass. Another important fact is that many adults who lose weight eventually regain it in the form of fat. This happens because they revert to previous eating and exercise patterns. Maintenance of a healthy body weight is central to good health.