Children find themselves amidst a complex society that is undergoing breathtaking changes.

Concepts, relationships, lifestyles are metamorphisised to accommodate the new jet-setting age. Food is no exception. Healthy nutritious foods have been replaced by the new food mantra - JUNK FOOD! Junk food comprises of anything that is quick, tasty, convenient and fashionable. It seems to have engulfed every age; every race and the newest entrants are children. Wafers, colas, pizzas and burgers are suddenly the most important thing. The commonest scenario is a child who returns from school and plonks himself in front of the television, faithfully accompanied by a bowl of wafers and a can of cola. Children suddenly seem to have stepped into a world of fast foods and vending machines, totally unaware of the havoc they are creating for themselves. The years between 6-12 are a time of steady growth; good nutrition is a high priority. Children must know that what they eat affects how they grow, feel and behave. Changes in our society have intensified the need for food skills, to the extent that they need to become a part of the child's basic education for good health and survival. The vast majority of working mothers with school age children are laboured with exhausting commutes, upswings in the households, and stress, leading to a situation where parents get to spend limited time with their children. Traditional food skills are not passed on automatically from parent to child. Most people have forgotten that the primary reason for eating is nourishment. In the not so distant past, food was treated with reverence because of its life sustaining quality. Enjoying a meal was sharing experience with the others. Today family dinners are rare. In many ways, our culture is structured to foster poor eating habits. Television commercials and supermarkets are propagating a wide variety of enticing junk foods, attractively packaged and often tagged with a tempting sop. We should be constructing an environment that protects our children. Instead we have a highly seductive environment that undermines eating habits. For children who have less vision of the heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure or diabetes that might befall them decades later, the tentacles of a junk food environment are virtually inescapable. Studies reveal that as early as the age of 30, arteries could beginning clogging and lay the groundwork for future heart attacks. What children eat from puberty affects their risks of prostate and breast cancer. Osteoporosis and hypertension are other diseases that appear to have their earliest roots in childhood when lifelong eating habits are being formed. Children are especially vulnerable. Poor diets can slow growth, decay new teeth, promote obesity and sow the seeds of infirmity and debilitating disease that ultimately lead to incurable disease and death or worse make life insufferable. Most of the times these junk foods contain colors that are laced with colors, those are often inedible, carcinogenic and harmful to the body. These foods and their colors can affect digestive systems, the effects of it emerging after many years. Studies have found that food coloring can cause hyperactivity and lapses of concentration in children. Children suffering from Learning Disabilities are often advised against eating food with artificial coloring. Chocolates, colas, flavored drinks and snack tit bits are full of artificial coloring. Not surprisingly, junk food not only has physiological repercussions, but also psychological ones - far reaching ones that affect the child's intellect and personalities. Coping intelligently with their dietary needs increases their self-esteem, and encourages further discovery. School days are full of educational challenges that require long attention spans and stamina. Poor nutritional habits can undermine these pre-requisites of learning, as well as sap the strength that children need for making friends, interacting with family, participating in sports and games or simply feeling god about themselves. Junk foods are often eaten in instead of regular food, an essential Indian diet that consists of wholesome chapatis and vegetables or snacks like upmas and idlis. Not surprisingly eating junk food leads to a sense of starvation both physically and mentally, as the feeling of satiation and contentment that comes after a wholesome meal is absent. There is simply no substitute for the feeling that descends, when you wake up and find that you are ready to take on the world and this primarily stems from GOOD HEALTH! There is no better time than now to build a supportive environment for nurturing our children and endowing them with a legacy of good health.

Here are some of the potential dangers of eating fast foods.

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They are very addictive! Many children cannot handle the hits of sugar and caffeine (from coke for instance) that they eat and drink. Fast foods are very high in carbohydrates, very low in fiber and very high in fat. This is why people who eat a lot of fast foods usually put on a lot of weight. Child obesity has increased considerably in the past 10 years. Studies show that improved diets, with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and lots of grains, improves general health and moods in both children and adults. Many fast foods have lots and lots of artificial flavors, colors and preservatives. None of these are very good for your health. They are even worse for children as their bodies cannot handle all the chemicals. High fructose corn syrup, an addictive that is put in soda, has been associated with increased risks of Type II diabetes and heart diseases. Fast foods have been linked to cholesterol levels rising and raising of blood pressure (due to the high sodium content). Therefore, the risk of strokes is much higher. Some people argue that eating chickens that have been pumped with hormones is dangerous, and may lead to an earlier onset of puberty. However, it is illegal to sell chicken that has been given hormones in the United States and Australia (and probably other countries as well) There are many concerns from animal rights activists (PETA, for instance) who argue that raising and killing chickens for food is inhumane. Ever seen Super Size Me? One guy ate McDonalds every day for one month. He gained 20 pounds and experienced sever liver problems. The liver doctor begged him to pull out after 20 days! Fast foods have very little good nutritional value. You are much better off cooking at home. It is not hard! Try our easy tortilla soup recipes and the best beef stew recipe.

Junk food is an informal term applied to some foods that are perceived to have little or no nutritional value (i.e. containing "empty calories"); to products with nutritional value, but which also have ingredients considered unhealthy when regularly eaten; or to those considered unhealthy to consume at all. The term was coined by Michael Jacobson, director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, in 1972.[1] Junk foods are typically ready-to-eat convenience foods containing high levels of saturated fats, salt, or sugar, and little or no fruit, vegetables, or dietary fiber; and are considered to have little or no health benefits. Common junk foods include salted snack foods like chips (crisps), candy, gum, most sweet desserts, fried fast food and carbonated beverages (sodas)[2] as well as alcoholic beverages.[3][4] High-sugar cereals, particularly those targeted at children, such as Froot Loops, are also classified as junk food.

Contents
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1 Health effects 2 Taxation 3 See also 4 References

5 External links

[edit] Health effects

A study by Paul Johnson and Paul Kenny at the Scripps Research Institute (2008) suggested that junk food consumption alters brain activity in a manner similar to addictive drugs like cocaine or heroin.[5] After many weeks with unlimited access to junk food, the pleasure centers of rat brains became desensitized, requiring more food for pleasure. After the junk food was taken away and replaced with a healthy diet, the rats starved for two weeks instead of eating nutritious fare.[6] A 2007 British Journal of Nutrition study found that mothers who eat junk food during pregnancy increased the likelihood of unhealthy eating habits in their children.[7] A report published in the Journal of the Federation of America suggests that babies of mothers with a high-sugar and high-fat diet while pregnant are more prone to junk food themselves. The study was conducted on rats and suggests that "infants whose mothers eat excessive amounts of high-fat, high-sugar junk foods when pregnant or breastfeeding are likely to have a greater preference for these foods later in life."[8] A 2008 report suggests that mothers who eat junk food while pregnant or breast-feeding have children who are more prone to obesity. The children are also more prone to diabetes, raised cholesterol, and high blood fat.[9]

[edit] Taxation
To reduce unhealthy foods, in December 2011 Denmark has introduced the first fat-food tax in the world by imposing a surcharge on foods that contain more than 2.3 percent saturated fat. Hungary has also imposed a tax on packaged foods that contain unhealthy concentration, such as beverages containing more than 20 mg of caffeine per 100 ml.[10]

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The fast food industry has added every chemical possible that they can legally get away with to addict people to their food. In fact, if you eat fast food and you stop eating it, you actually go through withdrawal symptoms. Its like a drug. Not only that, the preservatives are so high in these fast food burgers these days that the product does not even break down. Fast food has been linked in the increase in obesity in both adults and children. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in our country, particularly in children. Here are some startling statistics to consider: 65% of American adults are overweight 30% of Americans are obese According to the American Obesity Association, 127 million Americans are overweight, 60 million Americans are obese, and 9 million are morbidly obese: they weigh 100 pounds more than they should. In the last twenty years, the rate of obesity has doubled in children and tripled in adolescents and teens.

 As of September 2004, nine million American kids between the ages of six and eighteen were obese. OBESITY: A KILLER Obesity-related illnesses will kill around 400,000 Americans this yearalmost the same as smoking. Americans have gotten so big that their coffins have to be supersized! Related illnesses caused by obesity: High cholesterol High blood pressure Heart disease Breast Cancer Colon cancer Gout Arthritis Asthma Diabetes Strokes In 2003, The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that one out of three kids born in America in the year 2000 will develop type 2 diabetes. The life of a ten-year-old child who has Type II diabetes will be, on average, between seventeen and twenty-six years shorter than that of a healthy child. Diabetes can lead to heart attacks, strokes, blindness, kidney failure, and nerve damage in the lower legs which may result in amputation (82,000 of these cases occur every year). Diabetes is currently the sixth-highest cause of death in America. Fast Food is Everywhere The rise of the fast food industry plays a critical role in why our country is plagued with obesity. Fast food is everywhere: in big cities, small towns, shopping malls, the airport, the bus station, schools, and even hospitals! There are 31,000 McDonalds worldwide- almost 14,000 of them are in the U.S. People are Eating a lot of Fast Food Fast food has become cheaper and easier to buy. In 2004, Americans spent $124 billion dollars on fast food. That same year, The American Journal of Preventive Medicine published a study showing that the percentage of fast food calories in the American diet has increased from 3 percent to 12 percent over the last twenty years. Fast food culture was introduced to other countries around the world in the 1980s. In countries like Japan and China, people have abandoned traditional healthy diets in favor of fast food and as a result the rate of obesity and other diseases has soared. Fast Food Restaurants Serve More Not only is fast food everywhere, but fast food companies encourage the consumer to eat more by supplying over-sized burgers, extra-large servings for fries, and buckets of soda.

Products like The Whopper, The Big Gulp, and Super Size meals pack in a whopping amount of calories, sugars, and fats. Lets take a closer look: The Double Gulp soda at your local 7-11 holds 64 ounces of soda that is half a gallon! It contains the equivalent of 48 teaspoons of sugar. A typical hamburger at a fast food restaurant weighs six ounces. In 1957, it weighed one ounce. According to one nutritionist, your average fast food meal is more like three meals. The average meal at a McDonalds has 1,550 calories. Fast Food is not Good For Us Were eating more food that is not nutritious. Most fast-food meals are high in fat, high in sugar, high in calories, high in starch, high in salt, and low in fiber and nutrients. Because fast food lacks nutrients, after we eat it were not satisfied. That makes us hungry for more soon after. Why kids are at a major risk Our children are exposed to an onslaught of advertising for fast food. Fast food chains spend more then $3 billion every year on television advertising. They intentionally campaign to kids so they become life-long customers. These are known as cradle-grave advertising strategies. Researchers have found that children can often recognize a company logo, like the Golden Arches, before they can recognize their own name. In one year, the typical American child watches more that 40,000 TV commercials. Around 20,000 of these ads are for junk food: fast food, candy, soda, and breakfast cereals. This means that your child sees a junk food ad every five minutes when theyre watching TV. To further motivate children to eat fast food, companies like McDonalds have Happy Meals with free toys. McDonalds gives away more than 1.5 billion toys every year. Almost one out of every three new toys given to American kids each year is from McDonalds or another fast food restaurant. In order to combat these calculated advertising strategies, educating our children on healthy eating habits that are easy, fun, and taste great is paramount. By teaching our children how harmful fast food is and how to eat healthier, they are empowered to make the right choices. I recommend if you are serious about your health, you AVOID fast food AT ALL COSTS! There are so many healthy alternatives that can not only satiate your cravings, but deliver the vitamins and nutrients your body needs for peak performance. Please browse this site and read all about delicious superfoods, superherbs, and other superior healthy foods.