The Negative Effects Of Junk Food And Fast Food

In modern day society, eating habits have completely changed from what they were in the past. More than one-third of U.S. adults are obese. Regularly eating junk food can cause many negative repercussions including weight gain, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes. Even though junk food tastes good, it is not nutritionally balanced and can affect a person’s health negatively primarily by excessive weight gain, illness, and health issues.
Andre F. Smith, author of Encyclopedia of Junk Food and Fast Food, defines junk food as, “ those commercial products, including candy, bakery goods, ice cream, salty snacks, and soft drinks, which have little or no nutritional value but do have plenty of calories, salt and fats.” People of all ages are shifting towards the junk food market because it makes an easier lifestyle for many people because it is hassle

This study compared diets of 5,000 children in public schools and compared their performance on standard academic literacy tests. The data showed that students who ate poor, low-quality foods, high in sugars in fats performed worse on these standardized tests. Additionally, junk food can skew academic performance of students in schools by altering memory and learning abilities. There are many repercussions due to the consumption of junk food for people of all ages. Some may say that junk food is beneficial to consumers because some artificial ingredients that are incorporated in junk food is beneficial for health. For example, the blue food dye found on blue-colored M&Ms are considered helpful because they could reduce damage caused by spine injuries(National Academy of Sciences). However, many people do not realize that the chocolate inside M&Ms candy include approximately .08 percent of cocoa. Therefore, the candy, itself, consists of high amounts of sugar and artificial