JUNK FOOD

Let’s go back in history before we come to know about junk food. In the 1970s, it was the era of bell bottoms and disco. I hope the people of young generation of that time knows well.

But it was a confusing decade for smokers of that time; people already knew that smoking was not good for their health. Even studies have linked cigarettes to cancer.

Governments of the time were interfering with education programs as well as banning the sale of cigarettes to children, and taxes were increasing.

But somehow people still think smoking is okay. And why wouldn’t they? Cigarettes are still everywhere, whether it’s in magazine advertisements, billboards at sporting events, movies, or TV shows.

Cigarettes are still widely available in offices and bars. And if every country has a smoking culture and everyone seems to be doing it, can something really be that dangerous? That’s what people used to think.

So let’s come to our topic: is really junk food bad for your health?

You are in danger. Junk Food

Now let’s come to today’s situation, We see a similar scenario but this time it is not cigarettes; this time the threat is Junk Food

What scientists call Ultra Processed Food (UPF), they have given it a scary name so that people take junk food seriously.

But before I move on to the dark worrying stuff, let me tell you what ultra-processed food is. It includes food that has gone through several industrial processes.

Simply put, food that has been ground into a pulp and has had flavors, colors, and other ingredients added is ready to eat and looks incredibly delicious.

Your burgers, chips, chocolate, and fizzy drinks are the obvious examples, but baked goods, protein bars, cereals, and yogurts are also part of the list. Yes, they are mouth-watering, but they are a scam.

This food is seriously unhealthy, and you have known this for years. Studies have linked ultra-processed food, or UPF to poor health.

It is high in added sugar, fat, and salt; it is low in vitamins and fiber. Just be cautious, as junk food is entering your life day by day, but I am here to tell you that it is doing much more than that.

For the first time, an international team of researchers has done a comprehensive review; this is the largest review. They studied almost 10 million people to understand how UPF or ultra-processed food, affects the human body.

How Junk Food Endangers Your Health

This is the world’s largest review of its kind, and what they found is that UPF is directly linked to 32 diseases, but I want you to imagine what is the worst thing that can happen to your health—think of any parameter.

• MENTAL
• RESPIRATORY
• CARDIOVASCULAR
• GASTROINTESTINAL
• METABOLIC
• CANCER

Junk food has a bad effect on all of these. It increases the risk of all kinds of problems, like

It is also linked to asthma and cancer and increases the risk of death by 21%; these numbers are worrying. If you start to depend on junk food, then in the future people may not reach the age of 60.

Carzy of JunkFood worldwide.

But people love burgers and pizza. Countries like the U.K. and the U.S. consume the most ultra-processed food in the world, from breakfast to dinner, with more than half of their average diet consisting of junk food.

Sweden and France are the next two; India comes in 13th position on the list. It doesn’t sound that bad, but junk food sales in India have tripled in the past decade.

May be because of several reasons people now a days, espically younger generation corporate workers, are fully dependent on junk food, or what you can call street food.

Indians spent $30 billion on junk food in 2022. According to the recent Household Consumption Expenditure Survey, Indians are spending more on processed food and less on home-cooked meals.

People Dependent on Junk Food?

But it’s important to note here that not everyone chooses to eat junk food; many people don’t look the other way, such as people in deprived areas.

Junk food typically makes up 80% of their diet, and even those who can afford healthy food choose to avoid it because junk food is cheap and tasty, and it’s everywhere, from TV advertisements and memes to office vending machines.

Our world sees junk food as an indulgence. The warnings don’t reach our daily lives, so what can we do about it?Ultra-processed foods are highly profitable. We can’t expect consumers to have good intentions.

And while anyone would expect a tired traveler or a hungry office worker to refuse a burger that would be nothing short of taunting, you can’t expect anything better from food companies.

So let me go back to the example of cigarettes. Do you know how our perception of smoking changed when governments increased their efforts between the 1990s and the 2000s.

Governments pushed for mandatory warnings such as no smoking signs or warnings on cigarette packages.

In the case of junk food, too strict regulation is the only way. For centuries, man has controlled his eating habits; we say now the time has come that we have to control this too.

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