Eating Patterns

What Eating Patterns covers

Eating Patterns is examined in Unit AS 2, Diet, Lifestyle and Health — examined, compulsory. It covers food consumption trends and demographic change, social change, employment and leisure patterns, resources and availability of healthy food and food labels and advertising as barriers.

The 4 subtopics

Each one has its own page. CCEA AS Nutrition and Food Science students sit this topic in the first year.

• Food consumption trends and demographic changeTrends in processed food, portion sizes, ready meals and plant-based eating, the nutrition transition, and how ageing, household size, ethnicity, income and gender shape diets.Open →
• Social change, employment and leisure patternsHow family life, cooking skills, technology, social media, convenience food, snacking, women's employment, shift work, screen time and eating out affect diet.Open →
• Resources and availability of healthy foodIncome, time, knowledge, equipment, transport, food deserts and food swamps as barriers to healthy eating, and how schools and government can reduce them.Open →
• Food labels and advertising as barriersThe nutrition declaration, traffic light labels and reference intakes, misleading portions and claims, pester power, and restrictions on advertising less healthy food.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Eating Patterns further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Food desert vs Food swamp

  Food desert: an area lacking affordable fresh produce within easy reach. Food swamp: an area crowded with takeaways and outlets selling energy-dense items.

• Demographic change vs Social change

  Demographic change: a shift in population characteristics such as age structure or household size. Social change: a shift in the customs, roles and lifestyles shared across a society.

• Traffic light label vs Nutrition declaration

  Traffic light label: a voluntary colour-coded summary of fat, saturates, sugars and salt on the front of a pack. Nutrition declaration: the mandatory back-of-pack table of energy and nutrients per 100 g.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is meant by a diet-related disorder?

   Model answer

   A diet-related disorder is a health condition in which diet is a major cause or risk factor. Obesity, Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease and dental caries are examples.

2. 2

   What trend in processed food consumption is linked to the rise in diet-related disorders?

   Model answer

   Ultra-processed foods supply over half of the energy in the average UK diet (NDNS analyses, 2018). Ultra-processed foods tend to be energy dense and high in fat, sugar or salt.

3. 3

   How have portion sizes changed over recent decades, and why does this matter for health?

   Model answer

   Portion and pack sizes of many foods, such as crisps, chocolate bars and ready meals, have grown. Larger portions lead people to eat more energy without feeling any fuller.

4. 4

   What does the National Diet and Nutrition Survey show about UK intakes of free sugars, saturated fat and fibre?

   Model answer

   Average intakes of free sugars and saturated fat are above the recommended limits. Average fibre intake is well below the 30 g a day advised for adults.

5. 5

   Give one food consumption trend that has moved in a healthier direction, and explain why.

   Model answer

   The sugar bought in soft drinks has fallen since the Soft Drinks Industry Levy began in April 2018. Manufacturers cut the sugar in many drinks to avoid paying the levy.

6. 6

   How has the consumption of ready meals changed, and why does it matter for health?

   Model answer

   Sales of chilled and frozen ready meals have grown strongly over recent decades. Many ready meals are high in salt and saturated fat and low in vegetables and fibre.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Eating Patterns revision questions

Is Eating Patterns examined at AS in CCEA Nutrition and Food Science?

Yes. It sits in AS 2, which you take in the first year, so it is on the AS paper as well as counting towards the full A level.

What does Eating Patterns cover in CCEA AS-Level Nutrition and Food Science?

4 subtopics: food consumption trends and demographic change, social change, employment and leisure patterns, resources and availability of healthy food and food labels and advertising as barriers. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Eating Patterns organised?

By the CCEA 3310 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.