Poor eating habit

Poor eating habit

An individual’s behaviors and choices affect how they lead their life, and health-based decisions affect their overall wellness and state of health. Behavior change is pretty tricky and complicated, making it almost impossible to make any positive changes in how one leads his or her life. However, with a willing heart and in the right environment, behavior cab change. In this case, we discuss the eating disorder, which results in anorexia. Anorexia is common in teenagers, which results from the changes they undergo during puberty. Peer pressure makes them excessively sensitive to casual comments and criticism about their shape or weight. Changing this behavior aids in building self-confidence and boosting the esteem of many teenagers. Youngsters with low self-esteem always have feelings of defensiveness and lack courage and confidence in their skin. Learning about healthy eating habits and being satisfied in one’s appearance will make one happy about themselves (Howlett, Neil np). A good relationship between an individual and other people develops since the inferiority complex does not exist, and the person barely experiences inferiority complex. This results in poor performance not only in class but also in their social life.

Additionally, the damage caused by this behavior is irreversible thus needs to solve the poor eating disorder early enough before it is too late. Anorexia may also result in complications that may be fatal, causing sudden deaths. Other complications that arise from anorexia include; anemia, heart problems, absence of periods in females, and decreased testosterone in men (Mogles et al.,15). According to Prochaska, his transtheoretical model (TTM) of change has the following stages of behavior change; pre-contemplation, Contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination.

Stages of health behavior change

In the pre-contemplation stage, individuals have no intention of changing their behavior, and this stage lasts for about six months. Individuals in this stage are quite resistant and unmotivated, thus avoiding discussions or thoughts concerning health behavior at hand. This stage is also referred to as ‘denial.’ In our case, the behavior is poor eating habits, and the individual sees no harm in the unadvisable lifestyle he or she is leading. The Contemplation is characterized by an individual’s intention to change and adopt healthy behavior shortly, usually in the next six months after the pre-contemplation stage (Mogles et al., 25). Individuals are now aware of the pros and cons of the lifestyle they lead. They recognize that health behavior is problematic. However, even after discovering how ugly the behavior is, some people find it difficult to change their behavior. For instance, in our case, a teen who has been starving to achieve a perfect body may learn that this poor health behavior is dangerous and may cause severe damages but give those cons a blind eye since she wants to slim aiming at achieving her desired body shape. Preparation, also referred to as determination, is the third stage, according to Prochaska. In this stage, individuals are ready to change their behavior by taking small steps towards bettering their behavior to lead a healthier life. Our victim now realizes the essence of taking every meal and barely starves him or herself. They lead a healthier life so that they can reap the benefits. Action is the fourth stage; people have just reformed their behavior, and they achieve this by modifying their previous problematic behavior and attaining healthy behaviors. They change their environment and experiences as a way of overcoming their problems. Individuals implement plans and information gained in the preparation stage (Saunders et al., 65). The effects are measured in six months. In conjunction with our case, one might change the friends that body shape them and try taking healthy foods that do not add a lot of body fat. In the maintenance stage, the individual has sustained behavior change for quite some time, more than six months, and has the intention to maintain the new behavior. This stage aims at preventing relapse.

In our event, the individual continues taking healthy meals and maintains a company that supports them rather than shaming them. The termination stage is usually the last, and once an individual gets to this stage, they have no intention of returning to their previous lifestyle, and there are no chances of relapse. However, many people do not reach this stage as they tend to stagnate in the maintenance stage. This makes termination not to be identified in health promotion programs (Howlett, Neil np).

Strategies that help in maintaining healthy eating habits

There are quite several strategies that help in maintaining healthy eating habits. Talking to an individual with poor eating habits, especially self-starvation, really helps. It is essential to motivate and encourage individuals who embrace eating disorders due to peer pressure. Giving such people hope and supporting them aids in boosting their self-esteem. Although preventing the development of an eating disorder may not be possible, giving good behavioral talks may play a big role (Saunders et al.,64). Additionally, advising them on healthy ways of losing weight, for instance, taking hot lemon water instead of starving oneself, is quite helpful. Also, urging them to embrace their appearance and love themselves despite the imperfections is essential. Supporting individuals with eating disorders in exercising or even carrying out simple activities that help in maintaining their bodies in order. Such individuals should also seek medical attention from authorized medical practitioners who advise them on healthier behavioral trends. Accompanying them to health practitioners is also a way of supporting the individuals. Taking a moment to evaluate oneself and recognizing how wonderfully created they are aids in embracing oneself in their skin.