Health
Ask a doctor: ‘Why do I keep eating foods that I know are bad for me?’
Most experts agree that nearly all foods are OK in moderation and that it’s fine to indulge now and then — but many Americans fall into patterns of continually making unhealthy choices, even though they want to stay on a healthy track.
Why do people continuously eat foods that they know are bad for them?
Fox News Digital spoke to two medical doctors about what’s driving this unhealthy behavior and how people can pivot their mindset to make smarter choices.
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The main reasons for this pattern are rooted in human nature, according to experts.
“Unfortunately, it’s just human behavior,” Jesus L. Lizarzaburu, M.D., a family physician with TPMG Grafton Family Medicine in Yorktown, Virginia, told Fox News Digital.
Many Americans fall into patterns of continually making unhealthy choices, even though they want to stay on a healthy track. (iStock)
“We tend to gravitate toward things that are enjoyable, and a lot of things that are bad for us are very enjoyable.”
Convenience and comfort can also factor into a repeated cycle of making poor food choices.
“There’s a reason they call a lot of these foods ‘comfort foods,’” added Lizarzaburu. “They bring us a lot of joy at a primal level.”
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When discussing dietary choices with his patients, Lizarzaburu said he attempts to learn about their preferences and behavior, delving into not only their food choices but also portion size.
“One common denominator that could help everyone is decreasing the serving size,” he said.
“We tend to gravitate toward things that are enjoyable, and a lot of things that are bad for us are very enjoyable,” one doctor said. (iStock)
Patients can also log what they are eating as part of setting health goals, the doctor suggested.
It’s important to enjoy and savor foods as well, he said, which can actually help to regulate consumption.
“We have forgotten to enjoy our food,” Lizarzaburu said. “We just eat because it’s time to eat, and we’re so busy that we forget to enjoy a meal. When we do enjoy a meal, we tend to eat less of it.”
How are food prices affecting unhealthy patterns?
Natasha Bhuyan, M.D., a family doctor with One Medical in Phoenix, Arizona, told Fox News Digital that the poor quality of many Americans’ diets isn’t an individual issue, but rather a systemic problem.
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“Processed foods are often more affordable than healthier options,” she said.
“When we do enjoy a meal, we tend to eat less of it.”
“They are also convenient, especially for people who are working long hours, families and other groups who may not have the luxury of time.”
Processed foods are often filled with sugar, starch, sodium and unhealthy fats, Bhuyan warned.
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“They also increase the risk of things like obesity, diabetes and heart disease,” she said.
How can people break the cycle?
To help patients get on a path to better health, Lizarzaburu said he often brings people’s feelings into the equation.
One doctor advises patients to prioritize their nutrition just as they would other important areas, like family, work and finances. (iStock)
“It’s worthwhile to appeal to emotion and help [patients] make a change for someone other than themselves, like for a child, parent or friend,” he said.
“That is a lot more powerful of a motivator than me telling them it’s good for them.”
Lizarzaburu also advises patients to prioritize their nutrition just as they would other important areas — like family, work and finances.
“As a family physician, rather than telling patients what to do, I like to engage in a conversation,” she said.
Simple changes, like cooking at home instead of eating out, can make a big impact, experts say. (iStock)
“After we establish the individual person’s motivation for change, we talk about what realistic changes they can make.”
In many cases, simple changes can have a lasting impact.
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This might mean drinking more water each day, adding more vegetables to dinner or cooking one meal at home rather than eating out.
“Small and practical changes are often the foundation for successful healthy changes,” Bhuyan added.
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A new report by the American Heart Association (AHA) included some troubling predictions for the future of women’s health.
The forecast, published in the journal Circulation on Wednesday, projected increases in various comorbidities in American females by 2050.
More than 59% of women were predicted to have high blood pressure, up from less than 49% currently.
The review also projected that more than 25% of women will have diabetes, compared to about 15% today, and more than 61% will have obesity, compared to 44% currently.
As a result of these risk factors, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7%.
The prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke in women is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7% by 2050. (iStock)
Not all trends were negative, as unhealthy cholesterol prevalence is expected to drop to about 22% from more than 42% today, the report stated.
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Dr. Elizabeth Klodas, a cardiologist and founder of Step One Foods in Minnesota, commented on these “jarring findings.”
“The fact that on our current trajectory, cardiometabolic disease is projected to explode in women within one generation should be a huge wake-up call,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“Hypertension, diabetes, obesity — these are all major risk factors for heart disease, and we are already seeing what those risks are driving. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, eclipsing all other causes of death, including breast cancer.”
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S. and around the world. (iStock)
Klodas warned that heart disease starts early, progresses “stealthily,” and can present “out of the blue in devastating ways.”
The AHA published another study on Thursday revealing one million hospitalizations, showing that heart attack deaths are climbing among adults below the age of 55.
The more alarming finding, according to Klodas, is that young women were found more likely to die after their first heart attack than men of the same age.
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“This is all especially tragic since heart disease is almost entirely preventable,” she said. “The earlier you start, the better.”
Children can show early evidence of plaque deposition in their arteries, which can be reversed through lifestyle changes if “undertaken early enough and aggressively enough,” according to the expert.
Moving more is one part of protecting a healthy heart, according to experts. (iStock)
Klodas suggested that rising heart conditions are associated with traditional risk factors, like smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.
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Doctors are also seeing higher rates of preeclampsia, or high blood pressure during pregnancy, as well as gestational diabetes. Klodas noted that these are sex-specific risk factors that don’t typically contribute to complications until after menopause.
The best way to protect a healthy heart is to “do the basics,” Klodas recommended, including the following lifestyle habits.
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Klodas especially emphasized making improvements to diet, as the food people eat affects “every single risk factor that the AHA’s report highlights.”
“High blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, excess weight – these are all conditions that are driven in part or in whole by food,” she said. “We eat multiple times every single day, which means what we eat has profound cumulative effects over time.”
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health,” a doctor said. (iStock)
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health.”
The doctor also recommends changing out a few snacks per day for healthier choices, which has been proven to “yield medication-level cholesterol reductions” in a month.
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“Keep up that small change and, over the course of a year, you could also lose 20 pounds and reduce your sodium intake enough to avoid blood pressure-lowering medications,” Klodas added.
“Women should not view the AHA report as inevitable. We have power over our health destinies. We just need to use it.”
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Nearsightedness (myopia) is skyrocketing globally, with nearly half of the world’s population expected to be myopic by 2050, according to the World Health Organization.
Heavy use of smartphones and other devices is associated with an 80% higher risk of myopia when combined with excessive computer use, but a new study suggests that dim indoor lighting could also be a factor.
For years, scientists have been puzzled by the different ways myopia is triggered. In lab settings, it can be induced by blurring vision or using different lenses. Conversely, it can be slowed by something as simple as spending time outdoors, research suggests.
Nearsightedness occurs when the eyeball grows too long from front to back, according to the American Optometric Association (AOA). This physical elongation causes light to focus in front of the retina rather than directly on it, making distant objects appear blurry.
The study suggests that myopia isn’t caused by the digital devices themselves, but by the low-light environments where they are typically used. (iStock)
Researchers at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry identified a potential specific trigger for this growth. When someone looks at a phone or a book up close, the pupil naturally constricts.
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“In bright outdoor light, the pupil constricts to protect the eye while still allowing ample light to reach the retina,” Urusha Maharjan, a SUNY Optometry doctoral student who conducted the study, said in a press release.
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“When people focus on close objects indoors, such as phones, tablets or books, the pupil can also constrict — not because of brightness, but to sharpen the image,” she went on. “In dim lighting, this combination may significantly reduce retinal illumination.”
High-intensity natural light prevents myopia because it provides enough retinal stimulation to override the “stop growing” signal, even when pupils are constricted. (iStock)
The hypothesis suggests that when the retina is deprived of light during extended close-up work, it sends a signal for the eye to grow.
In a dim environment, the narrowed pupil allows so little light through that the retinal activity isn’t strong enough to signal the eye to stop growing, the researchers found.
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In contrast, being outdoors provides light levels much brighter than indoors. This ensures that even when the pupil narrows to focus on a nearby object, the retina still receives a strong signal, maintaining healthy eye development.
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The team noted some limitations of the study, including the small subject group and the inability to directly measure internal lens changes, as the bright backgrounds used to mimic the outdoors made pupils too small for standard equipment.
Researchers believe that increasing indoor brightness during close-up work could be a simple, testable way to slow the global nearsightedness epidemic. (iStock)
“This is not a final answer,” Jose-Manuel Alonso, MD, PhD, SUNY distinguished professor and senior author of the study, said in the release.
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“But the study offers a testable hypothesis that reframes how visual habits, lighting and eye focusing interact.”
The study was published in the journal Cell Reports.
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