Essay on Junk Food for Students and Children in 1000+ Words

In this article, read a persuasive essay on junk food for students and children in 1000+ words. It includes definition, benefits, harmful effects, and tips to avoid eating junk food.

Essay on Junk Food for Students and Children (1000+ Words)

You can use this junk food essay in various school exams and competitions. You can write this topic if you need an article on say no to junk food essay.

Junk Food Essay Introduction with Definition

Junk food is unhealthy food that is high in calories from fat or sugar, with so many important forms of nutritional values like minerals, vitamins, protein, and with little dietary fiber.

Here, the precise definition of junk food will vary by purpose. Some high-protein foods such as meat prepared with saturated fat are known as junk food. 

The term high in sugar, salt and fat are used synonymously. Fast-food restaurants are often equated with junk food, even it cannot categorically describe as junk food, and most of these foods are highly processed ones.

For concern about the negative effect on health resulting from a junk food heavy diet, mostly obesity, these have resulted in a sale in various countries, restrictions on advertising, and public health awareness campaigns.

History tells that junk food is a pejorative term that dates back at least to the 1950s. 

The Effects of Eating Junk Foods

Over the past few decades, French fries, Frankies, wraps, rolls, burgers, pizzas, doughnuts, samosas, vada pav, and more junk food have penetrated every corner of the country.

You step out of your home and you will find them being served everywhere starting from college canteens, roadside corners to office, restaurants, and from malls.

But have you ever thought why these are known as “junk”? The word “junk” refers to something that is useless and extra. And all your favorite and delicious food do fully justify what the name signifies.

The consequences that these foods have on your health are worse, no matter whether you have them once in a while, twice a week or every day. 

Benefits of Junk Food Eating

Most of the people eat junk food at fast food centers. But if we calculate all aspects, junk food has very fewer benefits. Let us understand what are benefits of eating Junk food –

1. Chocolate strengthens brain

Most of the research says that eating dark chocolate increase brain power. Don’t eat regularly, If you eating weekly, it’s a good thing for your health.

2. Junk food is Delicious

Chaomin, Pizza, Burger, French fries, Egg roll, Manchurian all are examples of junk food. These all foods are tasty and easily available in all fast food centers. Eating them occasionally is a great thing, but eating daily may harm your health.

3. High Source of Vitamins and Minerals

Yes, junk food has a high quantity of vitamins and minerals. It is because it contains many stuffs like vegetable oil, ice-cream, eggs, meat, green vegetables, and more. The bad thing about them is they are deep fried but fast-food are great for seasonal eaters.

4. Low Cost and Easy to Get

You can find a fast-food truck in every street. The price of most of the junk food is very cheap so you can end your hunger with few bucks. Yes, we all know fast food is not good all the time, but it is life saver sometime.

5. Time Saver

Junk food is ready to eat and easily available. Some time it helps you a lot. For example, if you have an interview and you have no time to make food, then junk food at a fast-food center is the only way to complete your hunger & save your preparation time.

6. A Good Treat for Kids

Allowing eating junk food occasionally to children is a good treat for them. Give your kids some good junk foods like ice cream, popcorn, chocolates with nuts, egg roll, burger, etc. Kids will love them if you give them occasionally.

Harmful Effects of Junk Food

Just look at how junk food plays an important role in deteriorating your health-

1. Cause Fatigue

Even if junk food and fast food makes you satisfied and full, they lack all the required nutrition such as carbohydrates and protein to keep your body healthy and energized.

So, if you eat this food every time you are hungry, you will feel chronically fatigued. This will also lessen the energy level that will get hard for you to perform your everyday job.

2. Leads to Depression in Teens

A lot of many hormonal changes take place in teens that make them susceptible to behavioral changes and mood swings. A healthy diet works as a crucial role in maintaining the hormone balance because junk food lacks those important nutrients, the likelihood of teens to suffer from depression increases by 60%.

3. It Impairs Digestion

For people who are addicted to fatty junk food are bound to have digestive issues like irritable bowel syndrome and gastroesophageal reflux disease.

This is because junk foods are deep-fried and so the oil from it gets deposited in the stomach that causes acidity. This also irritates the stomach lining as these are too spicy, causing lack of fiber that is crucial for proper digestion.

4. Fluctuation in Blood Sugar Level

Junk food has a high concentration in refined sugar that puts the metabolism under stress. This causes the pancreas to secrete more level of insulin to prevent a drastic spike in the blood sugar level.

Since these foods lack a sufficient level of protein and carbohydrate, the blood sugar level drops suddenly after you eat, making you feel irritable and increasing you to crave more junky.

5. Affects Brain Function

According to a study published in the journal, it shows that one week of eating junk food is enough to trigger memory impairment in rats.

As per the recent studies, it replaces the healthy fats in the brain and interferes with normal signaling mechanisms, slowing down the ability to learn new skills.

6. Increases the Risk of Heart Disease

Junk food increases the triglyceride and cholesterol level that serves as the main risk factor for the development of heart disease.

Also, junk food cause accumulation of fat over time in the body will make people obese. The more weight you gain, the high risk you get susceptible to various diseases including heart attacks.

7. Causes Kidney Disease

The reason who you can never say no to chips and fries is the high contents of finely processed salt that raises salivation and secretion of enzymes that enhance your craving.

High content of sodium and fat from salt increases blood pressure, affecting the functioning of the kidney.

Why Is Junk Food So Addictive?

You might experience all too familiar afternoon slump. It brings on a fierce sugar or caffeine or salt craving. These days, you’ll find a lot of many people dealing with craving on a frequency over this, even over a daily basis.

The food manufacturer often makes these foods with the goal to ignite that cycle of addiction in the consumer. They look to the bliss point in the product. This is the point where the consumer experiences the ultimate pleasure with too much fatty flavor, sweet, and salty.

The combination of all these is hard to resist, and so the brain reacts similarly as the drugs and cocaine do. while succumbing to craving, it will seem inevitable at the moment. However, there are certain things you can do to control it.

How to Avoid Junk Food?

Below we have given some easy tips to avoid junk food-

1. Plan Ahead

There is no better way to handle craving than planning your snacks and meals ahead of time. If you have healthy snacks and meal packed and ready for you in afternoon and lunchtime, you are far less grab the leftover piece of pizza, sweets, or French fries someone brought to your workplace.

So, reduce your food cues, this is what the researchers name it as susceptibility to getting influenced by the conversation, advertisements, and food smells surrounding your daily.

Therefore, it is wise to plan out each week meal on Sunday, or the day prior to the starting of the workweek. You can go grocery shopping for what you require. You can then prepare large batches of easy foods like cold salads, roasted vegetables, stir-fried beans, and brown rice.

So, use food storage containers or foil, mason jars, to pack up servicing sizes to grab in the morning on your way out of the home. Also, orange, bananas, apples travel well and can be kept on your desk making them easy as afternoon snacks.

2. Shop the Perimeter

The perimeter of the grocery store usually includes fish sections, meat, and dairy products. This is where you will find real foods, instead of highly processed food products.

When you opt for shopping, you can buy products from these sections. In case the food has more than a few ingredients on the label, you shouldn’t purchase it. This one serves as a diet in the transition to the whole food. 

With time, your palate and body will get used to proteins, grains, fruits, fresh vegetables and more. You will get all the nutrients that are required from the healthy food, so you will crave the fake items and it will lessen. It will take a few weeks, but ultimately it is bad to taste it for.

3. Eat Healthy Fats

One of the most common nutrition myths is that fat makes everybody fat. Actually, your body requires fat, but there will be various kinds of fat.

You will avoid trans fat and limit saturated fat, but heart-healthy fat such as avocado and nuts will let you feel reduce craving for junkies. Adding fatty fish like salmon and fresh guacamole serves as a great path to incorporate filling healthy fats.

4. Eat Enough Protein

Protein makes one feel full like macronutrients such as carbs. So, it is wise to fill your diet with healthy sources of protein that include nuts, vegetables, beans, and fish. So, when you are full, there is less room and less desire for junk foods. 

Conclusion

Now we have concluded that there are both good and bad things about junk food. Choose how you want to use them. If you want to eat junk food, eat it but occasionally or weekly once when you go out.

Eating a balanced and healthy diet will keep you beautiful and disease free. Hope this educational essay on junk food helped you in your project. Thanks for reading.