Running Head: OUR FOOD CULTURE 1

Our Food Culture

Alexa Guerrero
University of Texas at El Paso






FOOD CULTURE 2

This annotated bibliography reveals through research and data done by various sources
how we live in society today affects our food culture. Food culture is seen as the study of
food as it relates to the history, progression, and future development of society. This is
extremely evident in how schools, families, the media, marketing, and even the government are
affecting how our society is developing. The purpose behind this annotated bibliography is to
outline each factor that has contributed to todays food culture. My focus was finding articles,
news reports that stated how our habits and our environment affect our food choices making our
own food culture for this generation. How does our food culture compare to that of the past
generations?
Annotated Bibliography
1. Abramson, E. (2011, Nov 7) The Family that Eats Together Stays Healthy Together.
Psychology Today. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com

Summary
This article focuses on how eating on the run affects food health negatively.
Reveals research that families who eat together four to five time in one week have
kids that have healthier eating habits. Discusses how in our fast and busy lives we
want fast food, grab a snack, and cannot eat as a family anymore. This affects
eating behavior in kids and adults by not eating what is at home where food
would be healthier than what is quickly offered outdoors.
Analysis
I believe this article will prove useful because Abramson, being a clinical
psychologist, states the chaotic lives we live are affecting our health dearly. This
is a strong point in my paper why our food habits have worsened. The author
clearly states throughout the whole article eating as a family promotes
psychological richness which induces healthy eating.


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Evaluation
The source is credible due to the author being a clinical psychologist and the
article comes from a credible website. The article is not biased in the sense that he
finds our busy society does contributes to our declining food health but it is also
the familys responsibility to keep good habits and consider the health and
psychological consequences their kids can face.

2. CBS News. (2010, Jan 12) How Americans Eat Today. CBSNews. Retrieved from
http://www.cbsnews.com
Summary
This news article addresses how much American eating habits have changed since
1971. Katherine Brooking, a nutritionist and contributor to Cooking Light
Magazine, tells how eating habits have worsened instead of bettered. This article
reveals how eating together as a family has decreased, and portion size and calorie
intake has increased leading to overweight or obese children and adults.
Compares eating habits of 1960s to 2000s in percentages revealing the dramatic
change in food culture shared in America before and today.
Analysis
This news article also comes with a video that sheds more information on the
article it came with. I found it very useful to my research due to how our culture
in society affects our food habits. This is one of main strong points I want to
argue: the advancement in our society is negatively affecting our health.
Evaluation
I believe this source is entirely credible, due to the research done and data
gathered. The research done confirms how drastically our choices relating to our
meals have affected us. I do not believe this source is biased, but it is in fact
revealing.

3. Khan, T., Powell, L. M., & Wada, R. (2012). Fast Food Consumption and Food Prices:
Evidence from Panel Data on 5th and 8th Grade Children. Journal Of Obesity, 1-
8. doi:10.1155/2012/857697

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Summary
This article provides great insight into how fast food and its prices make it widely
available to the age group ranging from adolescence to adulthood. It compares the
prices of fast food and prices of food bought for home consumption. It mentions
also how frequent and important out-of-home restaurants are to this age group. It
states how price differences do make an impact on the demand made by
consumers Policies have been to increase taxes in fast food compared to food
youd buy at the market to control the rate of obesity.
Analysis
I would use this article when stating how easily available fast food is to
consumers especially young of age that contributes later to adult obesity. This
article like many is focused on the health towards children, and how prices can
directly affect the consumption made by adolescents.
Evaluation
This source is credible due to research, and observational studies and relates to
fast food restaurants that are popular in the United States that mainly consumed
by teens. Studies go back to the 1970s til recently and demonstrate how eating
habits have worsened. It does specify that this research had some limitations, but
proved individual choices and the positive effects of price increase on fast food.

4. Obama, M. (2010, Jul 12) Remarks to the NAACP National Convention. Weebly.com.
Retrieved from http://www.glaw1311.weebly.com/readings.html
Summary
This article talked about how the food that is fed to today's children in schools
needs to be changed. She mentions that every one in three children is found with
obesity. The race that tends to be found with obesity more than other races are
African Americans. She talks about how life was then when she was child and
how life is now with all the children of the United States. How exercise is not
being implemented, and how fast-food and unhealthy food choices being offered
in school are contributing to the rise of obesity.
Analysis
I would use this article in addressing schools are a major influence to our food
culture. Not only what is being fed to the children in school but also the lack of
physical exercise that is current in children today. It argues that schools need to be
a healthy environment for our nations children to have a better and healthier
future.
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Evaluation
I believe this article is credible and states medical fact and research. I do believe,
however it is biased in the sense how Michelle Obama brings up her own personal
past and how the decline in food health is affecting minorities, especially in
African Americans. She compares the lifestyle lived in the past was much
healthier than today although this may be proven true, I believe it is addressed as
an opinion.

5. Ouwens, M. A., Cebolla, A. A., & van Strien, T. T. (2012). Eating style, television
viewing and snacking in pre-adolescent children. Nutricion Hospitalaria, 27(4),
1072-1078. doi:10.3305/nh.2012.27.4.5805
Summary
This article demonstrates how TV viewing impacts food habits in children and
adults. Evidence did not show that eating food in front of the TV directly leads to
obesity right away in children but continuous snacking (which is common in front
of the TV) can lead to negative eating habits. Bad habits can be controlled by
good parental role models. Emotional snacking is more common in adults than in
children, which is important due to adults are more directly influenced by the
television and its ads.
Analysis
I interpreted this article as in TV viewing while we eat is becoming more common
while we eat young and old. I feel if adults eat in front of the TV it starts off bad
habits at home and later affects the children psychologically to eat food out of
home like the adults and carrying out the bad habits. I would use this article in
demonstrating habits performed at home contribute greatly into the behaviors we
carry out in society, by the method in which we consume food.
Evaluation
I consider this article extremely credible because the trials conducted to find the
results used a large group of boys and girls which provides a wide range of data. I
would say this article is unbiased due to the way the research was conducted.

6. Roblin, L. (2007). Childhood obesity: food, nutrient, and eating-habit trends and
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influences. Applied Physiology, Nutrition & Metabolism, 32(4), 635-645.
doi:10.1139/H07-046
Summary
In this article, it starts off stating facts on how the numbers of obese and
overweight children have tripled over the past thirty years. Outlines the habits that
children follow today compared to the past in Canada. This article, however, also
covers data received from the United States. It states the causes of how obesity
occurs in children. It charts the food groups that are consumed by children today.
It also specifically states activities that were common in the past and activities
that are done today and how they prevent or cause obesity. It states how children
are influenced by the media, marketing, schools, and families.
Analysis
This is a very powerful article demonstrating how childrens habits today
contribute greatly to their food health decline. It mentions each outlet that
children are exposed to and how each category whether it be school, home, to
watching television affects their food habits and preferences. It will contribute
greatly in my paper to proving how society is today is the result of such health
decline among children.

Evaluation
This source is extremely credible and quite specific on all the topics it addresses
done from studies, research, and observation over the past years. Although the
research was conducted in Canada, it remains useful due to some data is
compared to the United States. I will say it is not biased due to being completely
objective on how children are affected solely by their environment.

7. Warner, J. (2010, Nov 25) Junking Junk Food. Weebly.com. Retrieved from
http://www.glaw1311.weebly.com/readings.html
Summary
This article takes a different approach to our food culture. It believes personal
responsibility and our culture determine our eating habits. The government
interfering and removing unhealthy foods from schools and regulating food
industries will not do anything because it does not change the culture we live in
which according to this article is what we are ruled by.
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Analysis
I extremely believe this article will be more than useful in my research paper
because it addresses that what and how we consume is directly tied to the culture
we live in today. I will use this article in arguing my point that society has a firm
grip in our decisions in healthy food decisions because of the way we view food.
Evaluation
This article is indeed credible, due to the events and data presented in this article.
It is backing up their point of view towards what will contribute a shift in our food
culture for the better. This source is biased due to the opinion it has on the
governments methods in changing our food culture.

8. Zimmerman, F. J., & Shimoga, S. V. (2014). The effects of food advertising and
cognitive load on food choices. BMC Public Health, 14(1), 1-18.
doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-342
Summary
In this article it addresses how advertisement of food affects an adults food
choices. Research was done on two groups: one group was shown food
advertisements while the other group was not. The groups were then put to the
test having healthy snacks and unhealthy snacks laid out on the table during a
break. The group whom food advertisements were exposed to chose the unhealthy
snacks more than the other group. It also tested the groups in demanding high-
cognitive tasks and low cognitive tasks and the group placed under high cognitive
tasks consumed much more unhealthy snacks than the other group.
Analysis
I believe this article will prove most useful to my research due to it specifically
correlates how social media affects food choices. It links how food advertisements
directly influence an individuals food choice. It also links when put under mental
stress which society induces more today affects an individuals eating habits
negatively. This is a strong point in my research.
Evaluation
This source is extremely credible, and purely observational research was done to
get a conclusion. There was no hint of an opinion in this article making it
completely unbiased.

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9. Zandian, M., Ioakimidis, I., Bergstrm, J., Brodin, U., Bergh, C., Leon, M., & ...
Sdersten, P. (2012). Children eat their school lunch too quickly: an exploratory
study of the effect on food intake. BMC Public Health, 12(1), 351-358.
doi:10.1186/1471-2458-12-351
Summary
This article focuses on the eating behavior of children during school rather than
what they eat. It states that eating behavior such as eating quickly (which happens
in mostly in every school) affects food intake and regulation to what they
consume. Studies were done conducting experiment in accelerating and
decelerating food intake. It also states eating quickly is an eating pattern followed
by most obese people and when food intake is increased which leads to weight
gain and can produce metabolic disorders.
Analysis
I would use this article in the argument that school is one of the main influences
in our society in the food culture we have seemed to adopt. It is an interesting
study to see how in school the speed we consume our food affects our food habits
later. Its proven that eating slower reduces the amount in which one consumes.
Evaluation
This source is indeed credible due to that this source is conducted by thorough
studies, research, and trials. It gives an un-biased conclusion that lack of food
moderation is affected by school and carried out into society.

10. Zinczenko, D. (2002, Nov 23) Dont Blame the Eater. Weebly.com. Retrieved from
http://www.glaw1311.weebly.com/readings.html
Summary
This article addresses how personal responsibility made towards our food choices
is hard to maintain in the way we live society today. It mentions how Type 2
diabetes which was a rare genetic disorder in children is now found in thirty
percent of child diabetes cases. It also states how fast food restaurants although
they display their calorie intake for their items it can be confusing or misleading
to read and understand for some people.
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Analysis
My response to this article was it is hard to be responsible and healthy in todays
society and will take true will and determination to change food habits shared in
America. I would use it to argue the effect society has on our personal choices
when it comes to the decisions we make about our meals and how they are
declining our health.
Evaluation
I believe this source is credible and proves a point in how even though we know
better we continue on the same patterns in our food choices. The article is credible
due through its passage it is supported by medical research. I do believe, though,
it comes from a point of view making it a biased source.













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