The negative effects of eating junk food

Your health and wellness are impacted by the food and beverages you consume each day.

Regularly ingesting junk food will harm your body and lower your health level. Junk food is

defined as food and beverages that are high in calories, fat, sugar, and salt but have little

nutritional value such as vitamins, minerals, and fiber (Southbank Medical Centre, 2022). Junk

food has tremendous power and nobody can stop them from eating junk food. The smell of junk

food hypnotizes people in the same way that the smell of other dishes does. After all, it is a

matter of hunger or our tongue's desire to taste scrumptious food such as junk food. However,

having more of this food can have an impact on our health. Let's look at some of the negative

repercussions of eating junk food which are obesity, learning and memory problems, and

overeating.

First and foremost, an increase in obesity among people is one of the most prevalent effects of

junk food. Junk food is a major contributor to weight gain because, in terms of nutrition, junk

food is high in fat, salt, and processed sugar but low in fiber, vitamins, and minerals, which

means it lacks of essential nutrients. To illustrate, Malaysia has the highest prevalence of adult

obesity in South East Asia. According to the 2019 National Health and Morbidity Survey, 50.1%

of our adult population is overweight (30.4%) or obese (19.7%). This support that eating junk

food is one of the reasons for obesity. Furthermore, obesity is where problems like diabetes, joint

discomfort, and different heart conditions begin to develop (Bajaj Allianz, 2021). Obese people

who consume junk food that contain high cholesterol every day will suffer from arteriosclerosis

disease due to accumulated fat that causes narrowing of the lumen. Hence, no doubt eating junk

food can lead to obesity problems in individuals.

Secondly, the negative side of eating junk food is having difficulties in learning and memorizing.

Learning is the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience or study. However,

memorizing is the process of committing something to memory. Junk food is commonly high in

sugar and fat. Having a lot of sugar and fat in our bodies tends to suppress brain function that

supports memory and learning. In addition, it can also trigger inflammatory responses in the

hippocampus region of the brain, which is important for memory. According to a study published

in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, persons who consume junk food, especially kids,

have poor cognitive results (Bajaj Allianz, 2021). This will affect children's learning

performance during studies in school. For example, kids who eat junk food will struggle to

remember what they learn in a certain subject. Thus, it will lead them to get low grades in

examinations. Hence, having problems with learning and memorizing is the consequence of

eating junk food.

Finally, overeating is one of the negative consequences of eating junk food. Foods that are most

likely to cause compulsive overeating share a potent combination of fat and carbohydrates, such

as refined grains and sugar. For instance, if there are certain foods you just can’t eat one bite of,

like eating a bag of chips in front of the TV or always going back for a second slice of cake at a

gathering, your body might have developed a craving for junk food. Processed food that is highly

addictive can alter your brain chemistry, raise your blood sugar, and drive you to seek out more

(Bajaj Allianz, 2021). When these foods are easily accessible all around you, compulsively

eating them might become a habit, leaving you struggling with your weight or illness. This could

lead to obesity, chronic diseases, and depression. Additionally, these items are difficult to digest,
which compounds the negative effects of junk food consumption. Thus, eating junk food could

lead to overeating as it could be addictive.

In conclusion, consuming junk food does have effects on us physically and mentally. Thus,

before grabbing yourself a pack of chips and fizzy canned drinks, always remind yourself of the

negative effect of junk food. It is our responsibility to spread the word on the facts about junk

food as it seems to be lacking in various perspectives of our people. So, health education

strategies should be formed focusing on diets and nutrition to monitor and observe the eating

trends in the country hoping to provide the best formula to control junk food consumption.

Therefore, all parties play an important role in keeping junk food a distance away from our

nation, especially to the young generations as the future of our country depends on them. It is

believed that having a healthy generation is vital for a country to develop over the years. As the

saying goes, health is the biggest wealth and it could not be done without the effort and desire to

make the move.

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Reference list:

1. Bajaj Allianz. (April 1, 2021). Harmful Effects of Junk Food.

Retrieved from https://www.bajajallianz.com/blog/health-insurance-articles/
harmful- effects-of-junk-food.html

2. Southbank Medical Centre. ( August 23, 2022). The Bad Effects Of Eating Junk Food |
How To Change Your Diet.
Retrieved from https://southgatemedical.com.au/the-bad-effects-of-eating-junk-food/