INTERCULTURAL PROJECT - Research Paper Example

Similarly, culture consists of other components such as language, values, as well as symbols. Alternatively, these components of culture play a critical role in changing the perceptions of people in terms of their dress code, mode of communication and habits such as eating and working methods among others. In addition, religious beliefs and ethnic patterns of certain culture affect food preparation, as well as their eating mode. There are different effects of culture in eating habits. For example, in the western nations thinness and significance of shape is given high priority in term of maintaining low weight.

This is caused by the emergence of popular culture especially in advertising, movies, magazines, books and magazines in which slim people are depicted as happy and contented with life. Additionally, most cultures believe in a change in diet when an individual is sick. Furthermore, in the African culture children are not allowed to eat with adults. On that note, certain meals are a preserve for elder people and the others for women and children. Similarly, there are certain foodstuffs that are eaten according to gender in African societies (Anderson, 2005).

For instance, in the traditional African societies, women were not permitted to consume proteins such as chicken, eggs, and meat. However, this was healthy for pregnant women as they were forbidden from eating carbohydrates such bananas and potatoes because of health effects upon the unborn baby. Therefore, such cultural effects in eating are what results to various eating difficulties such as bulimia nervosa, anorexia athletica, and orthorexia to obesity among others. That brings us to the next thesis: There are several cultural effects resulting to an eating disorder such as obesity.

For example, in the Mauritania, overweight shape is respected and girls are given food by force until they attain the obese