JUNK FOOD
Lorenzo Marquez
What is the correlation between junk foods popularity and common health-related diseases? Today I will give you the secret to a healthy life. I am 30 years old, and I have been diagnosed with kidney failure. My fiancé is 33 years old and she is at high risk for diabetes. I have two kids who eat mostly home cooked meals and are healthy but given the opportunity would eat high sugar cereal for breakfast, fast food for lunch and more fast food for dinner. Because of mine and my fiancés health-related diseases we find ourselves constantly having to pay attention to the ingredients and nutritional facts of the food that we eat. We have gone from eating fast food and pre-packaged food from the grocery stores to buying fresh food and making home cooked meals. The sad reality is that most American’s live off of junk food on a daily basis. By understanding the risks of junk food and what classifies food to be junk we can make the correct choices of what we eat to ensure that we live a healthy life.
Problem Analysis
Junk food is addicting, convenient and affordable. “Food that qualifies as junk will have a lot of sugar, fat, or salt” (Magid, 2011) Scientists use ingredients such as salt, sugar and fat because those are the ingredients that we find most appealing. When speaking of these ingredients Michelle (2017) writes “Back in prehistoric times, these ingredients were so rare that gorging on them when they were available was important for survival” (p.2) Junk food is scientifically designed to addict us with its high content of these harmful ingredients and is what society is eating day in and day out as nutrition. Scientists are working against us with junk food by using the ingredients that we are wired to eat. My finding is that the correlation between the popularity of junk food and related health diseases are those exact ingredients, sugar, fat and salt. By minimizing consumption in these ingredients, we can lead healthier lives.
Before junk food we did not see so many health-related diseases affecting the population. As the years progress food industries continue to scientifically engineer food we are seeing more, consumption of junk food and more cases of people with obesity and diabetes. In the article “Just Junk” Magid (2011) illustrates and gives us a good idea of just how often we really eat junk food. "The problem with junk food in our current food culture is that it seems to slip into every meal: We have a Pop-Tart for breakfast, a Snapple at lunch, a soda after school, fast food for dinner, followed by an ice-cream sandwich"(Magid, 2011). Stop and think about what you ate today. Do your meals classify as junk? The most likely answer is that even if you try to eat healthy some or part of your meals will still classify as junk. Unfortunately, health related diseases are not only in correlation with junk food but also overeating. In addition, to the findings of Magid, in “One Big Fat Truth” Haspel (2018) speaks of what has become normal to society which includes more carbs, fats, and bigger portions. Haspel states “The chunk of the U.S. adult population classified as obese — defined as having a body mass index of 30 or higher — has roughly doubled, to more than 38 percent, in the last three decades. The cause, according to the most consistent research results, is relatively simple: overeating” (p.1) Haspel gives us a good statistic of obesity in the population but also brings a great point of overeating. So why are we overeating and what does overeating have to do with junk food? We can discover the answer to these questions when reading the article “The Sinister Science of Irresistible Junk Food” Crouch states, “The food industry has hired scientists like Witherly to engineer cheap foods designed to override your body’s natural feelings of fullness” (Crouch, 2017). So not only are scientist engineering food that we are wired to eat scientist are also engineering food that will keep us feeling hungry. While scientists are overriding our natural feelings of fullness we eat and eat without an end. Scientists are engineering food to make us fail when it comes to health.
But is it the fault of junk food that so many health-related diseases are sprouting? In Grown Not Made (2013) we find similar statistics, “a third of adult Americans and a fifth of children are clinically obese, as the processed food industry churns out nearly a trillion dollars in sales a year” (p.1) This article alludes to the food industry making trillions. The growing problem with the food industry is that it is a financial establishment and if the food is not appealing we will not purchase the food. Budman (2013) states, “There's only so much that you can expect from companies; you can't expect them to make a product that isn't going to sell very well” (p.8). Here we see truth in that companies are not concerned with our health but rather financial gains. The food industry is a business and focused on making money. “There's a compelling story about Campbell Soup, which is just a wonderful company—they have been trying over the years to cut back on salt, and recently they took the salt levels in one line of their soups to a really commendable level, but sales faltered, and Wall Street analysts balked. The pressure from Wall Street was such that Campbell had to reverse, and they added back in all the salt that they had taken out” (Buddman, 2013 p.5). Although the food industry is becoming aware of the increase health risks, the population needs to make the first stand and stop purchasing junk food.
Solution
The fact of the matter is that the food industry is doing what it needs to do to make money. It’s up to us to make healthier choices and force the food industry to adapt. It is true that junk food is now being engineered to be healthier but as the food industry continues to thrive financially it does not have an incentive to adapt and it will continue to create more junk food. The popularity of junk food has increased health related diseases but now that we are aware of the dangers and risks that we take when eating junk food and the power that we have over the food industry, it is up to us to put the manufacturing of junk food to a halt. Junk food equals death.
Is eating junk food worth it? It’s true that junk food is cheap and convenient but when you think of the added cost that you will pay for health care, and expenses it will all add up in the end. And what about your quality of life. At 30 years old I spend 15 hours a week sitting in a dialysis chair getting my blood cleaned of toxins that enter my body. That includes excess fluids, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, etc. An overweight/ obese person also struggles with their quality of life. They struggle daily with even the little things that we don’t think about like sitting in a chair, getting up, getting dressed, tying their shoes, and walking up and down stairs. Then you have others with diabetes who are constantly having to check their sugar levels and injecting themselves with insulin. Not to mention all of the risks that come with it like possible loss of eye sight or even amputation of limbs. When I eat unhealthy I instantly feel the effects of a poor diet now. When I go out to eat and consume too much salt my face swells up. When I have too much tomato-based food, my feet swell. If I don’t have the appropriate amount of water my body starts to cramp. If I have too much fats and sugars I don’t feel well. It is hard for me to have the energy to lead a normal life and or not have it interrupted with dialysis treatment. My fiancé on the other hand. If she has too much sugar she immediately complains of headaches and migraines. We did not use to have these issues. It was because of our poor diets and food consumption that led to where we are now. Although you might not be at the stages of cardiovascular disease, obesity or diabetes. It is important that you understand the importance of cutting out, minimizing, balancing, or even just watching the nutritional labels of junk food because eating junk food is not worth it.
After trial and error, I have found that a plant-based diet is the best way to go. You get all of your needed nutrition and none of the negative effects of eating processed or scientifically modified foods. However, a plant-based diet is difficult to follow. I have found that you really need to get creative and be focused to be successful. The good thing is that you don’t necessarily need to cut out all meat and give up the foods that you love. Balance will be the key word to success and health. You can enjoy the junk food that you love in small amounts and incorporate lots of fruits and vegetables, you should be just fine.
Benefits
A healthy life is at a grasp and in our hands. Even if we are already feeling the effects of an unhealthy diet it is never too late to make changes in one’s life and start anew. If you are anything like me, you grew up eating unhealthily because your parents were working, and fast food was a quick fix. Eating healthy can also be a quick fix. Buy lots of fruits and vegetables at the store, prewash, precut and have them ready to eat. When you get hungry you can also grab a handful of almonds or nuts and be ready to go. It’s that easy. An easy breakfast option for me is oatmeal. Its ready in less than five minutes and I am ready to go. I also tend to cook more and store the leftovers to reheat for a quick meal a different day. The fact is that eating healthy actually saves me money and time. I spend less time driving to different fast food places, I waste less food, and I spend less on eating out. Also, the sooner you start eating healthy the sooner you will see your pallet change. I now go to some of the old places that I used to love to eat at just to find them to be disgusting and unappealing. Eating healthy is my new way of life and can be yours too.
Conclusion
In conclusion, yes, I do believe that junk food is to blame for so many of health diseases that we struggle with today. When you have the food industry scientifically designing food to addict us by using the very ingredients that lead to so many health problems how can we succeed? We see advertisements for junk food on billboards, on TV, hear them on the radio, see vending machines full of them, fast food at every turn, we walk into the grocery store and see boxes and boxes full of scientifically engineered food or even meats, fruits and vegetables that are genetically modified. I look around and see a society that has lost control of their health and nutritional values. However, the food industry is no longer to blame because we are now aware of the health risks that we take when eating unhealthy and the responsibility is now on us. We have a changing culture that we need to support, such as organic, non-GMO, no antibiotics, grass fed only, and the list continues. We have the responsibility to look at ingredients and understand that if we don’t know what it is it is most likely not good for us. We have the responsibility to look at our fat, salt and sugar intake. Don’t be sucked in to the dreadful life that bad eating habits brings and stand tall in making the right decisions for yourself, your family, and your community.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Budman, M. (2013). Who’s Winning THE HUNGER GAMES?. Conference Board Review, 50(2), 16.
Mozaffarian. (2016). Dietary and policy priorities of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. Circulation, 225
Crouch, M. (2017). The Sinister Science of Irresistible Junk Food. Scholastic Choices, 6.
Grown Not Made (2013) Skeptic, 18(2), 52-54.
Haspel, T. (2018). ONE BIG FAT TRUTH. (cover story). Discover, 39(4), 36.
Magid, J. (2011). Just Junk?. Current Health Kids, 34(7), 13.
