Diomidis Badiavas (32nd Lyseum Of Thessaloniki, 3rd Gymnasium of Charilaou)

We live in a world where we receive thousands of messages continuously which influence not only fashion, music and eating habits but also our personality. These messages have both a positive and a negative impact on our life either improving or harming our human qualities.

In this article we will talk about the factors that influence our eating habits. There are many factors which affect our diet. Firstly, there are personal and psychological ones which define our eating preferences according to our psychological and biological state.

Moreover, family plays a significant role to build the foundations of a healthy diet through cooking. It’s logical for an ordinary and traditional family to encourage its members to eat homemade meals rather than take-away.

                       

In addition, it’s crucial for a family to create a “golden list” of “forbidden” foods which its members should avoid. Eventually, this list can be responsible for preparing teenagers of the family to acquire a healthier lifestyle.

However, I think that the most significant factor which forms our diet is social media. Advertisements from television, radio, internet and last but not least newspaper, though we can’t accept it, don’t carry so innocent messages. They make us buy and taste, many times harmful and horrible products and lie about their ingredients. The last time I watched a commercial about food was while I was watching my favourite anime series. As a result I believe they are rather disturbing than effective for the market.

All in all, it is important to evaluate messages, coming from commercials in order to see through them and discover their real purpose and eventually follow or avoid them.