Consumption Patterns and EconomicsIntroductionIn order to better understand trends in consumption patterns, one must first understand the basic principles of economics. For the purposes of this assignment, I have chosen an article from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that comments on the recent increase in body weight and food consumption habits of today's children. This article will define terms such as economics, microeconomics, law of supply, law of demand, and identify the factors that lead to a change in supply and a change in demand. This article will also summarize the article and explain the basis of the trends in consumption patterns as discussed in the article and describe what happened to change the consumption patterns of individuals during their childhood.EconomyThe economy is the study of how human beings coordinate their wants and desires, taking into account decision-making mechanisms, social customs and the political reality of societies” (Colander, 2008). Economics is the science that deals with the production and distribution of products as well as the consumption of these products. It also studies normal human behavior with the aim of satisfying the wants and needs of the individual. Alfred Marshall, author of Principles of Economics, said it best when he defined economics as follows: “It is, then, on one side the study of wealth; and on the other hand, and more importantly, part of the study of man” (Investopedia, 2009). MicroeconomicsMicroeconomics is one of the branches of economics that analyzes market behavior and also focuses on understanding the decision-making process of businesses. like households. Microeconomics “is the study of individual choice and how that choice is influenced by...... middle of article......lander, DC (2008). Economics (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.St. Onge, MP, Keller, KL and Heymsfield, SB (2003, December 2003). Changes in children's food consumption habits: a source of concern given the increase in body weight. The American Journal of Clinical nutrition, 78, no. 6, 1068-1073. Retrieved January 11, 2009 from http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/78/6/1068 Investopedia, 2009. Retrieved January 11, 2009 from http://www.investopedia.com/university/economics/ economy3.aspInvestopedia, 2009. Retrieved January 11, 2009 from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/micronomics.aspInvestopedia, 2009. Retrieved January 11, 2009 from http://www. .investopedia.com/search/searchresults.aspx?q=law+of+supplyInvestopedia, 2009. Retrieved January 11, 2009 from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/lawofdemand.asp