Junk Food
Junk food addictiveness is vital to understand when addressing the need for children to avoid junk food. Also, there is a need to recognize that the addictiveness lasts throughout their life, and helps explain why children should avoid junk food. The diseases associated with the rampant consumption of junk food form a critical discussion topic when attempting to understand when addressing the issue of junk food. Also, it is essential to recognize that junk food is causing children to have a shorter life expectancy and will help explain why children should avoid junk food. The cost of addressing the complications brought about by junk food should also be addressed when explaining the need to keep children from consuming junk food. Also, there is a need to recognize that tax money is going towards the expenses associated with junk food, and helps explain why children should avoid junk food. Children should avoid junk food because it has an addictive, nature leads to many diseases and adds on the cost of dealing with the impacts of junk food on the health of children.
The addiction to junk food by children is the first issue of concern among various authorities. Desires always lead children and pay little attention to consequences. Junk food is addictive, with children having difficulties in resisting the cravings despite the harm associated with consuming junk food. Junk food has been found to have a similar addictive nature as smoking or taking drugs: “[Tobacco companies,] barred from targeting children for cigarette sales, focused their marketing prowess on young people to sell sugary beverages in ways that had not been done before,” Jacobs (1). Although drugs are associated with several substances that lead to addiction, junk food addiction is based on character and compulsive eating. Children who have become addicted to junk food in most cases require medical intervention to deal with the addiction. Besides, unchecked food addiction may lead to severe medical complications such as diabetes, which may become costly to address. Furthermore, junk food is associated with excess sugars that are responsible for programming the human brain into the craving for more sugars hence more junk. Children are at higher risk of addiction because they do not have a reformed decision-making ability and do not pay attention to consequences. Generally, the addictive nature of junk food makes it difficult to keep children from consuming the foods as well as addressing the negative impacts associated with the foods. Moreover, junk food leads to a variety of diseases that are difficult to deal with, both due to severity and costs.
Junk food is associated with several diseases that have proved difficult to manage among children as well as adults. Generally, no one would like to be sick or enjoys their time at the hospital. However, avoiding the factors that lead to diseases has become a challenge for most people. One of the factors that have been hard to deal with is junk food consumption: “sugar-laden products that health experts said had greatly contributed to the nation’s obesity crisis” Jacobs (2). For example, junk food is associated with heart diseases that result from obesity caused by junk food. Heart diseases are known for their severity and have been reported to cause deaths as well as high costs of treatment. Also, junk food is associated with liver damage and, eventually, death. Junk food is characterized by containing excess fats that are not distributed uniformly in the body. The fats end up being deposited around the liver, caused inflammation and eventually death. Moreover, junk food may lead to more severe ailments that may lead to sudden deaths among victims.
Moreover, the list of diseases caused by consuming junk food continues to grow every day. Most of the diseases emanate from the impacts of obesity and have proved difficult to control: “nearly a third of children in the United States overweight or obese and rates of type 2 diabetes soaring among adolescents,” Jacobs (1). Obesity leads to the blockage of arteries and effects the supply of blood across the body. When sufficient blood does not reach the brain, a stroke happens, and the victim may die if immediate action is not taken. Also, obesity may compromise the functionality of the pancreas leading to the lower conversion rate of sugar into energy. When excessive sugar is deposited into the body, a victim is at risk of suffering from type 2 Diabetes. Moreover, the management of diseases associated with junk food consumption is expensive and leads to the spending of resources that could be used on construction projects.
Diseases obtained for consuming junk foods are expensive to manage. The cost of management is high both at an individual of the government level. For example, individuals with heart complications are always on continuous medication. Besides, the medication for heart complications is expensive, and overlooking medication may have disastrous consequences on the victim and may lead to death. Also, diabetes requires management to keep sugar under a management level, and the cost is high. Furthermore, the government does not overlook the challenges facing the victims. The government is forced to make reservations in the budget to cater for medical costs for some of the victims: “Our children deserve more than this,” Obama (1). Also, the appliances required for dealing with some of the diseases are costly and require additional allocations from the government. Where the issue of junk food consumption becomes an issue, the government is forced to spend towards sensitizing the public on the impacts of junk food consumption. Generally, junk food is costly in the long run, although it seems to be cheap in the short term. Moreover, taxes are aimed at financing development projects by the government.
The collection of taxes is primarily done to finance the government’s development projects. Unfortunately, taxes have been diverted towards addressing the impacts of junk food, and the government has been compromised. The impacts of junk food have drawn attention from the government and recommendations are needed to sensitize the public on the issue of junk food. Unfortunately, the government has been suffering the impacts of ignorance of the public on the need to avoid junk food. Generally, the impact of junk food calls for immediate attention from the responsible authorities. Moreover, the replacement of healthy food with junk food is risky because the victims are denied the chance to obtain essential nutrients from the food, although most of the victims do not have the necessary information concerning a healthy diet.
Junk food has come to replace the position that should be occupied by a healthy diet. Individuals end up thinking that junk food can play similar nutrition roles as a healthy diet. However, the replacement of healthy food with junk food is risky for the health of consumers: “We have a chronic disease epidemic but we don’t understand the vectors very well,” Jacobs (1). Generally, junk food has low nutrition composition and high fats and sugars that are required at low levels by the body. Also, individuals who are addicted to junk food do not have an appetite for healthy food. Besides, one would generally choose between healthy food and junk food. The choice always falls on junk food, especially among children. Junk food is always cheap, and children are encouraged to spend sparingly by their parents without knowing the associated consequences. Generally, junk food consumers lack essential nutrients in their diet because they depend on foods that do not have sufficient nutrient composition. Moreover, the issue of junk food does not seem to be ending at a sooner date. Furthermore, the issue of junk food does not have to be getting a practical solution due to the associated factors. First, junk foods have come as a relief for working parents who do not have sufficient time to prepare healthy meals for their children. Therefore, addressing the issue has to involve sensitizing parents on the risks that they are exposing their children. Generally, the issue of junk food has to be addressed by engaging all the responsible parties. Patience is also needed to ensure that the solutions are found at the end.
In sum, Children should avoid junk food because it has an addictive, nature leads to many diseases, and adds on the cost of dealing with the impacts of the junk food on the health of children. Junk food is addictive, with children having difficulties in resisting the cravings despite the harm associated with consuming junk food. Moreover, junk food leads to a variety of diseases that are difficult to deal with, both due to severity and costs. Junk food is costly in the long run, although it seems to be cheap in the short term. Generally, junk food should be kept from consumption by children.
Works Cited
Andrew Jacobs, New York Times “Big Tobacco Hooked Them Young, on Sugar”, p. 1-3.
New York Times (1923-Current file); May 29, 2014; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times p. A35