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Junk Food Crisis


The junk food crisis refers to the ability of most people to acquire and consume large amounts of sweet, salty and sour food items that contain little or not nutritional content and are usually packed with sugar and other substances to make them more enticing. The availability of this particular consumable is said to be largely responsible for widespread obesity observed largely in Britain and North America. There are many different types of junk food and different cultures are affected by each type differently. Some speculate that it is not the item itself that is bad but the way it is marketed.

Fast food effects

When we think of an obese person, we imagine someone chomp down on burgers, fries, pizzas and hot dogs, sitting round all day watching television. While this may be true in some case, all of the blame cannot be placed on the consumer alone, there are many other factors at play. For instance, my teacher once describe it in this manner. When you eat meal of fried chicken and chips, you consume enough carbohydrates, proteins and fats to satisfy your dietary needs, but not to satisfy your eyes, so you are still and eat more. This is because these meals are usually prepared in serving sizes that do not reflect the energy content of the food and additives are often use to increase its appetizing qualities, enticing unsuspecting consumers to eat more than they need too. Coupled with being cheap and easily available, this is a very hard battle to win without serious effort.

Impulse junk food

We have all seen it, lining up at the register in your local grocery store ready to cash when you suddenly realize you have a craving for some chocolate so you drop two into the trolley and move on. While snacking occasionally may not be entirely bad, the tastes, variety and availability of these snacks make them irresistible for some people and if one doesn't have self control, they can engorge themselves on these items instead of eating a cooked meal. Though small in size, with proper management, sweets can both increase an individual’s size dramatically as well as destroy their teeth, leading to bad health in both cases.

Junk food is literally all around us, at our workplace, in our schools, convenience stores and in our homes. It is important to remember that moderation is key to a healthy life, so remember to monitor your input of these particular items.