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Obesity is a condition where excess body fat raises the risk of health issues. It is currently affecting the entire world. It's an epidemic that is increasing the risk of developing chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease. Even though junk food can lead to obesity, our fast-paced lifestyles are making it a regular part of our lives. Juggling sports, school, and spending time with friends and family can make life extremely hectic! Junk food manufacturers make food tasty, convenient, and reasonably priced; as a result, eating and cooking healthy homemade meals has mostly been replaced.
Fast food items such as burgers, fried chicken, and pizza, packaged foods like chips, biscuits, and ice cream, sugar-sweetened drinks like soda, fatty meats like bacon, sugary cereals, and frozen ready meals like lasagne are all considered junk food. Usually, these are highly processed foods. A raw agricultural food that has been processed to be cleaned, ground, washed, and/or cooked further; in other words, the food was made through a number of steps, all aimed at making it tasty and easy to overindulge in.
The three main nutrients found in food are fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. Food also contains vitamins and minerals that aid in growth, development, and overall health. It's critical that we get the right nutrition during our adolescent years. On the other hand, junk food contains large amounts of fats, and carbs that the body absorbs very quickly and leads to obesity that opens doors for many diseases. Unfortunately, junk food has a lot of calories and energy but lacks many essential nutrients that our bodies require to grow and stay healthy, such as fiber, proteins, vitamins, and minerals.
Junk food companies frequently use devious advertising tactics to target young people by using our heroes and icons to promote their products. One of our favorite sports, cricket, is sponsored by a major fast-food company in Australia.
Pro athletes, such as cricket players, don't power their bodies with burgers, fries, and fried chicken! According to a study, teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 watch over 14.4 million food commercials on well-known websites in a single year, with the most popular goods being cakes, cookies, and ice cream. Another investigation that looked at kid-friendly YouTube videos found that 38% of all the advertisements featured food or drink, and that 56% of those advertisements for food were for junk food.
Counting the number of processing steps in a food can help determine whether it qualifies as junk food. Consider foods like a fresh tomato, a grain of rice, or milk that has been squeezed from a cow. These are complete, unprocessed foods, and we can begin to imagine the number of steps that must be taken to turn them into something tasty, convenient, ready to eat, and long-lasting. Following are the ingredients that make the junk food harmful to our body:
Consuming foods high in sugar and red meat can increase inflammation and your risk of heart disease. On the other hand, a Harvard study found that consuming a diet high in fruits, vegetables, and other anti-inflammatory foods lowers the risk of heart diseases.
Also, read: Tips to Prevent Heart Diseases
Junk foods are rich in bad cholesterol that result in formation of adhesive plaque on the vessel walls, resulting in their narrowing. This results in an increase in blood pressure and more burden on the heart. This may cause heart failure if left untreated.
Moreover, such plaques may block heart arteries, causing a heart attack due to coronary artery disease. In certain cases these plaques may reach lungs, causing pulmonary embolism which is a life threatening disease.
Healthy alternatives to junk food are:
We are aware that junk food is appealing, reasonably priced, and easily accessible. Because of this, reducing our intake of junk food is difficult. On the other hand, there may be detrimental effects on our health if junk food starts to dominate our diets. Our diets should focus on high-fiber items like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables; meals with moderation in sugar and salt; and foods high in calcium and iron. Eating well contributes to the development of strong bodies and sound minds. Reducing our consumption of junk food can be achieved on a personal level through our dietary decisions.
Q1: To what extent is junk food harmful?
A: Consuming junk food over time can result in type 2 diabetes. obesity and overweight; heart-related conditions (e.g., high blood pressure, cholesterol, and cardiovascular disease).
Q2: Why should we abstain from fast food?
A: Trans fat is found in nearly all foods that contain hydrogenated vegetable oils, or junk food. You should make every effort to cut back on junk food in your diet because these fats have negative effects such as diabetes, strokes, and heart disease.
Q3: Why is junk food so addictive?
A: Foods that have been carefully prepared to achieve the "bliss point" have the power to suppress our brain's natural urge to quit and keep us wanting more. Dopamine is released into the brain during the 'bliss point'.
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