D. Healthy Living · Healthy Living

What Shapes What I Eat? Influences on Food Choices

D2.1 A1.6 A1.5About 45 minutes

Learning goals

I can name medical, emotional, practical and societal factors that influence what people eat.
I can explain how a factor might make healthy eating easier or harder.
I can use what I know about these factors to make a healthier food choice in a real situation.

Words to know

eating habits
The usual patterns of what, when, where and how much a person eats.

factor
Something that has an effect on a choice or a result.

medical factor
A health reason that affects food choices, such as an allergy, diabetes, celiac disease or braces on your teeth.

emotional factor
A feeling that affects food choices, such as stress, boredom, sadness or excitement at a celebration.

practical factor
An everyday, real-life reason that affects food choices, such as cost, time, cooking skills or what food is available nearby.

societal factor
An influence from the people and world around you, such as family, culture, religion, friends and media.

Why did you eat what you ate?

Think about what you ate yesterday. Did you choose it because you were hungry? Because it was fast? Because it was what your family made? Because you were bored, or celebrating, or because a friend had the same thing?

Every food choice has reasons behind it. Health experts call these reasons factors. Today you'll become a food-choice detective and learn the four kinds of factors that shape what people eat.

Baskets of apples, corn, tomatoes, carrots, peaches and green beans at an outdoor farmers' market. — A summer farmers' market full of local food. What factors might shape what a shopper buys here: price, season, family traditions, or what looks fresh? AI-generated image

Remember from Grade 5

Last year you learned how food ads and media try to sell you food, and how to read Nutrition Facts tables and ingredient lists. Media is one important influence. This year you'll see that it is just one of many factors, and you'll practise using all of them to make healthier choices.

The four kinds of factors

The Ontario curriculum groups the factors that influence eating into four kinds:

Medical: reasons that come from a person's health.
Emotional: reasons that come from feelings.
Practical: everyday real-life reasons like money, time and what's nearby.
Societal: influences from other people and the world around us: family, culture, religion, friends and media.

A single meal is usually shaped by several factors at once.

The four kinds of factors that push on every food choice. One meal is usually shaped by several of them at once.

Kind of factor	Examples	How it can affect eating
Medical	Food allergies (like peanuts or shellfish); celiac disease (can't eat gluten); diabetes; lactose intolerance; braces on teeth; feeling sick	Some foods must be avoided; some foods are easier or harder to eat; meals may need planning
Emotional	Stress, boredom, sadness, worry, excitement, celebrations, comfort foods	People may eat when they aren't hungry, skip meals when worried, or choose sweets to celebrate
Practical	Cost; time; cooking skills; kitchen tools; what stores are nearby; distance to fresh food; busy schedules	Busy mornings can mean skipping breakfast; fresh food can be harder to get or cost more in some places, such as some remote northern communities
Societal	Family traditions; culture; religious practices (such as fasting or not eating certain foods); friends; ads and social media	Families and communities share favourite foods; friends may influence snack choices; ads push highly processed foods

Four kinds of factors that influence eating habits and food choices.

Factors can help or get in the way

A factor isn't good or bad by itself. It depends on how it pushes your choice.

Family can help (a parent who packs veggies) or make it harder (a family that is too busy to cook).
Culture can bring wonderful, healthy traditional foods to the table, like the many dishes made with beans, lentils, vegetables, rice or fish in families from around the world. In many First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities, traditional foods gathered from the land and water, and sharing them with others, are an important part of health and culture today.
Emotions can lead to mindless snacking, but a celebration with special foods is a normal, happy part of life.

The skill is to notice the factor and then choose on purpose.

A food-choice detective's 3 questions

What factors are affecting this choice right now?
Is each factor helping me eat well, or getting in the way?
What can I change (or plan ahead) to make a healthier choice?

Worked example

Let's figure out a busy morning

Amira has hockey practice at 6:30 a.m. on a snowy Saturday. She usually skips breakfast because there's no time, then feels shaky and grumpy by 8 o'clock.

Find the factors. Time (practical), an early schedule (practical), and maybe not feeling hungry that early (a body cue).
Helping or getting in the way? These factors get in the way: she has no fuel for a hard workout.
What can she change? Plan ahead: the night before, pack a quick breakfast she can eat in the car, like a whole grain muffin, a banana and a container of yogurt, plus a water bottle.
Check: this fixes the practical problem (time) without needing to cook in the morning.

Amira can't change the time of practice, but she can plan ahead. Recognizing the practical factor led to a practical solution.

The detective's three questions in order. Amira can't change the time of practice, so she changes what she plans instead.

Worked example

Let's look at a feeling

Jonah is stressed about a big test. After school he eats a whole bag of chips in front of the TV without really noticing.

Find the factor. This is mostly emotional: stress. (Easy-to-grab chips in the cupboard is also a practical factor.)
Helping or getting in the way? Getting in the way: he's eating to deal with stress, not because of hunger.
What can he change? Notice the feeling first. Ask, "Am I hungry or am I stressed?" If he's hungry, choose a snack, put a portion in a bowl and eat at the table. If he's stressed, try something that actually helps stress: a walk, some deep breaths, talking to someone, or starting to study.

Naming the emotional factor gives Jonah a choice. Food is not a bad way to feel comforted once in a while, but it doesn't fix stress.

Detective joke

The Case of the Missing Cookies. Suspects: hunger (a body cue), boredom (emotional), the cookie jar sitting right there on the counter (practical), and a friend who said "everyone's having one" (societal).

Verdict: probably all four working together. Case closed, detective!

Hands-on activity

Factor finder at home

You need: paper, a pencil, and your family's kitchen or a recent meal to think about.

Make a chart with four columns: Medical, Emotional, Practical, Societal.
Think about three meals or snacks from the past two days. For each one, write the factors that influenced it in the right columns.
Circle one factor that got in the way of healthy eating.
With your grown-up, make a plan to deal with it next time (for example, cutting up veggies on Sunday for busy weekday snacks).
Bonus: Ask a parent, grandparent or Elder about a food that is important to your family's culture or traditions, and why.

What to look for: at least one factor in each column across the three meals, and a realistic plan.

Your turn

Name the four kinds of factors that influence eating.

Sort this factor: a peanut allergy.

Sort this factor: eating popcorn because you're bored.

Sort this factor: fresh fruit costs a lot at the closest store.

Sort this factor: your whole team goes for burgers after every game.

Give one way family can help healthy eating.

What should you ask yourself before snacking when you feel stressed?

More practice: warm-up

True or false: a factor is always bad for healthy eating.

Sort: braces on your teeth make apples hard to bite.

Sort: an ad for a new cereal with a toy inside.

Sort: no time to make lunch in the morning.

Sort: eating birthday cake at a party.

More practice: on your own

Leo has celiac disease. Name the kind of factor and one thing he must do when choosing food.

Why might fresh vegetables cost more in some remote northern communities?

Your friends all buy slushies after school. Name the factor and one healthy way to handle it.

Give an example of a religious practice that can affect eating.

Explain how one meal can be shaped by two factors at once. Give an example.

Challenge

Plan a healthy packed lunch for someone who has a nut allergy (medical), only 5 minutes to pack in the morning (practical), and loves the same foods as their friends (societal). Explain your choices.

A family can't afford much fresh fruit in winter. Suggest two practical ways they can still eat vegetables and fruit.

Why is it important to notice what factors are affecting you, instead of just eating?

Check your understanding

Quiz

A lactose intolerance is which kind of factor?

Choosing chips because you are bored is an example of...

Which is a practical factor?

Family, culture, religion, friends and media are all...

Amira skips breakfast before early practice. What's the best plan?

Which statement is true?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: This lesson covers the Grade 6 expectation to apply knowledge of medical, emotional, practical and societal factors that influence eating habits and food choices (D2.1). It also builds critical thinking (A1.6) and sense of identity, through family and cultural food traditions (A1.5).

How to help at home:

Talk about the reasons behind your own food choices out loud: "I'm tired, so I want takeout. Let's do quick eggs and toast instead."
Involve your child in planning for a busy week: packing lunches the night before, washing fruit, cutting veggies.
Share your family's food traditions and their meaning.
Avoid labelling foods as "good" or "bad" or linking food to weight. Focus on noticing and planning.

Common difficulties: Children may think only ads influence eating, or may feel judged if their family's situation (for example, cost) limits choices. Emphasize that every family has factors, and that frozen and canned foods are healthy, practical choices. If your child has a food allergy, this is a good time to review reading labels and carrying their epinephrine auto-injector, if prescribed.