Junk Food
Junk Food
In today’s fast-moving world, people have less and less time to spend eating, let alone cooking. It is probably for this reason that junk food has become so popular, and there’s no doubt that it’s here to stay. In fact, it seems that you simply can’t get away from it. One British hotel group recently announced that its guests are able to order fast food through room service, a move which is seen by many as signifying a new era in the couch potato lifestyle. So what exactly is junk food?
Basically, it is anything that is high in calories but lacking in nutrition. Hamburgers, crisps, chocolate bars and hot dogs fall into this category. Pizzas, although they can have vegetable and cheese toppings, are also included as they contain a lot of fat.
Obviously, a diet of junk food is not the best thing for your health, particularly as it is high in saturated fat. In 1993, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute reported this type of fat to be associated with a greater risk of cancer.
Apart from the risk of cancer, another side effect of consuming highly fattening junk food is that you are likely to gain weight. This is especially true because you tend to eat more, as junk food is less satisfying and lower in vital nutrients than healthier food.
The best advice, then, for those who cannot live without their hamburgers or chocolate bars, is to limit the amount of junk food they eat. A little now and then will probably do no harm. But why have our eating habits changed? "It’s lack of time and loss of tradition," says one expert.
He explains that people are too busy to cook and eat proper meals, so they grab whatever is available - and that is usually junk food. Also, the style of life represented on TV, especially in music videos, is fast. Young people pick up the idea that speed means excitement, whereas anything traditional is slow and boring. As a result, they turn down traditional food and go for junk food instead.
Another alarming thing about
In today’s fast-moving world, people have less and less time to spend eating, let alone cooking. It is probably for this reason that junk food has become so popular, and there’s no doubt that it’s here to stay. In fact, it seems that you simply can’t get away from it. One British hotel group recently announced that its guests are able to order fast food through room service, a move which is seen by many as signifying a new era in the couch potato lifestyle. So what exactly is junk food?
Basically, it is anything that is high in calories but lacking in nutrition. Hamburgers, crisps, chocolate bars and hot dogs fall into this category. Pizzas, although they can have vegetable and cheese toppings, are also included as they contain a lot of fat.
Obviously, a diet of junk food is not the best thing for your health, particularly as it is high in saturated fat. In 1993, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute reported this type of fat to be associated with a greater risk of cancer.
Apart from the risk of cancer, another side effect of consuming highly fattening junk food is that you are likely to gain weight. This is especially true because you tend to eat more, as junk food is less satisfying and lower in vital nutrients than healthier food.
The best advice, then, for those who cannot live without their hamburgers or chocolate bars, is to limit the amount of junk food they eat. A little now and then will probably do no harm. But why have our eating habits changed? "It’s lack of time and loss of tradition," says one expert.
He explains that people are too busy to cook and eat proper meals, so they grab whatever is available - and that is usually junk food. Also, the style of life represented on TV, especially in music videos, is fast. Young people pick up the idea that speed means excitement, whereas anything traditional is slow and boring. As a result, they turn down traditional food and go for junk food instead.
Another alarming thing about