Junk Food And Its Impact Of Junk Food?

IMPACT OF JUNK FOOD INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS JUNK FOOD?

Coined in the year 1972 at the Centre for Science in the Public Interest, Washington the junk food is a slang used to refer to food that is of high caloric value and low nutritional value. Definitions also vary on the basis of the status and class of a person. High income homes have a much broader categorization while those that are financially not so well off may recognize fewer foods as junk food. Especially in the Indian context one must be careful as certain food items such as our curries tend to be rich in caloric value but low on its nutritional value and calling it junk would be offensive as it has been consumed for centuries. Fast food falls under the junk food category. The term

Seeing their favourite sports stars and celebrities in advertisements of various famous cola brands, fast food brands such as lays and dominoes influence them. Also these foods are tasty. It is a great situation for its manufacturers as these foods have a high shelf life and be stored in an extremely cost effective manner enabling them to make handsome profits. For families in which both parents work several minute made food items such as Maggi have become the staple snack of many homes across countries. In an Indian context consumption of food at fast food outlets gives you feeling of high status as several research studies have

Oil from the junk food gets deposited in the stomach causing acidity and they are deficient in fibres which is essential for proper digestion. Certain kinds of junk food are high in refined sugar due to which the pancreas secrete large amounts of insulin to prevent a sudden rise in blood sugar levels and as they lack in carbohydrates and proteins it leads to a sudden drop in blood sugar levels once we finish eating and leads to craving for more sugar. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention argues that if present trends continue one in three adults would be diabetic in countries like the USA by the year 2050. Fast food leads to steep rise in stress levels. Caffeine rich foods such as coffee, chocolates and processed foods contain flavour enhancers, synthetic additives and these are called pseudo stressors as they are powerful stimulants. Among children increased fast food consumption has been linked to obesity. For example one meal of the Spanish omelette bagel sold by McDonald’s contains 710 calories, 40 grams of fats, 275 milligrams of cholesterol and 1520 milligrams of sodium. These food items rich in fat, added sugars do not provide the children necessary nutrients to enable kids to engage in physical activity leading to them becoming less active and more obese due to which they can be increasingly be made fun of in schools. As a