The Influence of Understanding the Human Body System, Chemical Reactions, and Energy on Health Decisions and Eating Patterns in Society

Abstract

The lack of public understanding regarding how the human body functions affects eating patterns and health decisions. This study examines the impact of public understanding of the human body system, chemical reactions, and energy mechanisms on health decisions, eating patterns, and the role of socio-economic factors and social support. The approach used is a descriptive correlational quantitative method with a cross-sectional design involving 328 respondents selected using stratified random sampling. Data analysis was conducted using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results indicate that socio-economic factors moderately influence eating patterns (0.285, p-value 0.002) and health decisions (0.369, p-value 0.050). Understanding of the body system positively influences eating patterns (0.145, p-value 0.097) and health decisions (0.321, p-value 0.008), as well as socio-economic factors (0.345, p-value 0.001) and social environment (0.389, p-value 0.000). Understanding of chemical reactions influences eating patterns (0.403, p-value 0.000) and socio-economic factors (0.245, p-value 0.001), although its impact on health decisions (0.087, p-value 0.146) is not significant. Understanding of energy influences socio-economic factors (0.401, p-value 0.000) but does not significantly affect eating patterns (0.133, p-value 0.092) and health decisions (-0.071, p-value 0.633). All constructs used have been well tested for validity and reliability, with the smaller SRMR value indicating a good model fit to the data. Segmentation based on predictions shows that health interventions tailored to segment characteristics can improve eating patterns and health decisions more effectively. These findings are crucial for designing public health interventions to improve eating patterns and health decisions.