Junk Food

Junk Food

Julia Lindo

The people who indulge in junk food are supporting a problem that affects many countries worldwide. This problem is obesity. Moreover, attempting to abolish it will utterly fail due to the fact that eliminating it may harm school funding and junk food is still available. Nevertheless, I argue that junk food is unhealthy. However, if the prices of fruit, vegetables, etc. and junk food are reversed, with healthier food being more affordable, it would then result in a decrease of the temptation of someone buying an excessive amount.

Eating unhealthy food causes hazards to one’s physical, mental, and social development. According to Alissa Fleck, a contributing writer for several community newspapers in New York City, “those consuming junk foods have energy deficits, low concentration, social development issues, and dietary issues.” After eating junk food your energy level spikes up for a couple hours. However, after your body finishes digesting the sugars, your energy level decreases because it no longer has that sugar to depend on for energy. This harms your body physically and mentally. Physically, you’re very tired and have zero to no energy left at the end of the day and all of the fats from the foods become compiled in your body making you obese or on the verge of obesity. According to Alissa Fleck, who studied this topic, “regularly eating junk food does not provide the necessary nutrients children need for sufficient energy to engage in physical activity. A lack of physical activity is harmful to physical and mental well being and may also exclude a child from critical social development.” Mentally, your concentration levels, whether in school or at work, drop. Due to the loss of the high sugar through digestion, you become very tired and deprived of any source of energy, so therefore you are too tired to concentrate.

Unhealthy food consumption also causes social deprivation. Consequently and sadly, people who encounter an overweight person will not associate themselves with them because they look different. The peers of an overweight person will bully them and embarrass them. Therefore, regretfully, the person suffering from terrible eating habits will have a hard time being socially active in fear of being made fun of. According to a study published in Pediatrics in 2004, the researchers found that children who consume fast-food almost daily, have a significantly large amount of dangerous precursors of obesity. According to this study, “kids who ate fast food were more likely to consume a higher amount of calories, fat, carbohydrates and added sugars in one fast food meal. The engrossers of this product are less likely to consume as much fiber, milk and fruits and vegetables as children who did not eat fast food.”

If food producers were to switch the prices of healthy foods and junk foods, then obesity rates would essentially decrease. This is because healthy foods, for whatever reason, cost more than unhealthy foods. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, “The healthiest diets cost about $1.50 more per day than the least healthy diets, according to new research from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH).” (Eating Healthy vs. Unhealthy Diet ) The people around the world are complaining about the obesity rates when they are making accessibility to healthy foods almost impossible to obtain. Why would someone want to spend more money on healthy food when they can fill themselves up with something cheaper? Others may argue that the ones struggling with an eating disorder have to actually want to alter their eating habits, otherwise, they’ll never change. They also argue that switching the prices of the healthy foods and junk foods will not change the underlying fact that the food addict has to make their own decisions. However, this isn’t true. Not all addictions are broken by the victim alone. That’s why, for instance, rehabs are still here in our society, for those who struggle to get away from something they’ve done for many years. The Harvard School of Public health also states that, “The researchers found that healthier diet patterns—for example, diets rich in fruits, vegetables, fish, and nuts—cost significantly more than unhealthy diets (for example, those rich in processed foods, meats, and refined grains)…a day’s worth of the most healthy diet patterns cost about $1.50 more per day than the least healthy ones.” So, needless to say, I criticize the prices of food because the accessibility for healthy foods are harder to obtain than unhealthy foods. The prices of some foods are are the main problem of this epidemic.

In conclusion, junk food and obesity has always been a problem worldwide. So, attempting to abolish it will be to no avail because it affects everyone — schools, businesses, etc. Therefore, obesity rates can decrease if the prices of healthy foods and junk foods are swapped. This is because people would probably rather fill themselves up for a cheaper price.

 

Works Cited

“Eating Healthy vs. Unhealthy Diet Costs about $1.50 More per Day.” News. N.p., 13 Jan. 2014. Web. 22 May 2017.

“Junk Food.” Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2017. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, Accessed 17 Apr. 2017.

Rosenthal, Brian M. “A Ban on Junk Food May Harm School Funding.” Should Junk Food Be Sold in School?, edited by Roman Espejo, Greenhaven Press, 2014. At Issue. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, Accessed 17 Apr. 2017. Originally published as “School Board May Ease Ban on Junk Food,” Seattle Times, 11 Dec. 2011.

Writer, Leaf Group. “How Junk Food Affects Children.” Healthy Eating | SF Gate. SF Gate, 07 Oct. 2016. Web. 10 May 2017.