The Effects of Junk Food on the Body and Brain Since industrialization in early America, the food industry has been growing, and with the development of prepackaged foods and fast-food chains, having snacks at your fingertips is a luxury that seems convenient and beneficial… until one considers the effects of junk food on the body and brain. Generally, junk food is characterized as food with high fat and sugar content and minimal nutritional value (Karimi-Shahanjarini et al., 2012). In modern day America, it is common to arrive home from a long day at school or work and grab a conveniently prepackaged snack to quiet your munchies and calm your nerves. Although this seems like a harmless act, eating these snack foods can have negative effects on the body and brain.
The intake of unhealthy snacks has long-lasting effects on the body. Regular consumption of these high calorie and low nutrition snacks is linked with health concerns such as tooth decay, a higher frequency of obesity, and other chronic diseases (Jackson, Romo, Castillo, & Castillo-Duran, 2004). Researchers at Boston’s Children’s Hospital reported a study at the American Heart Association’s cardiovascular disease epidemiology and prevention annual conference. The researchers came to the following conclusion: Those who ate fast foods more than twice a week and watched more than two hours of television a day had three times the risk of obesity and abnormal glucose control as those who ate fast food no more than once a week and watched less than 90 minutes of television a day. (Amsterdam News, 2003)Obesity, especially in women, yields a higher risk of coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, gallstone formation, cancer of the reproductive. .
, an increased vulnerability to health issues (O’Keefe & Cordain, 2004). This same industrialized government should be responsible for regulating these food distributions that stemmed from the growing nation as a whole. A government regulation on junk food would improve our health and, in effect, lower our health bills. While the rules may seem inconvenient and controlling, the regulations are for the good of the American citizens and it is in the best interest of the people to lower not only the material costs, but also the hidden costs of junk food, which are obesity, heart disease, and diabetes (Amsterdam News, 2003) – diseases that have the potential to impede everyday living styles; diseases that have the potential to end a life early. If we can’t take care of ourselves, someone needs to step in, and if that requires a helping hand from the government, so be it.
