The effects of junk food

The effects of junk food

Fast food was originally designed to make our lives easier. The ability to pick up a meal in minutes has plenty of appeal, but it’s a poor alternative to a home cooked meal. Fast food is basically anywhere nowadays, you can find them at shopping centers, and even at airports. Some added with their delivery services, it’s not only convenient but also saves time when we are in a rush. Fast foods are taking popularity by families because working parents have less time for meal preparation by themselves (C Das, J. 2015). Technology has made it even worse, as all children do is eat junk food and spend their free time playing on their phones and computers instead of doing physical activities. Fast food if eaten continuously can develop poor focus, less energy, obesity, and breathing problems because of its lack of nutrition, chemical flavor, and the use of to much oil.

As I mentioned, fast food is known for its lack of nutrition and chemical flavoring, which we know are harmful to our health. Most of the fast food are pre-prepared and then go through a process to speed up their services. The prepare part is added with preservatives to make it last longer (Adams J. & Brown H. 2014). Without preservatives, the pre-prepare food will easily be spoiled and never last. Although preservatives are used to keep the food fresh and to stop the bacterial growth, there are certain preservatives in food that are harmful if taken in more than the prescribed limits, it’s proven that it can cause cancer (Food Additives, 2013).

During the making process, flavor is also added to make the food tastier. Unlike freshly cook food, where we maintain its original taste. According to the American journalist and author known for his investigative journalism, Eric Schlosser (2006), just about all the food in a fast food industry is processed; so much of the flavor is destroyed. Eric Schlosser also said that fast food is heavy on fat, salt and sugar, and reduced nutrient. It’s scientifically proven that most flavors in fast food are made from chemicals. The tastier it is, the more chemical is needed. In fact, a couple of these chemical flavorings can cause hair loss, affect our skin structure, affect our body cells, and deteriorate our organs (Kaushik JS. & Narang M 2011).

Eric Schlosser (2006) also said that in 2006 about 200,000 people are sickened in the United States by foodborne disease, which is any illness resulting from the food spoilage of contaminated food, pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites that contaminate food. He reported that about 900 people are hospitalized and fourteen of those die. If this is true, in 10 years it’s expected that about 140 people will die from foodborne disease. But, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2016, 48 million people got sick from foodborne, 128,000 got hospitalized, and 5,000 died. Which means that in 10 years it’s expected that about 50,000 will die from the disease.

As I stated before, the majority of junk food is made in

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