Consumption of Junk Food in the USA - Essay Example

The Effect of Consumption of Junk Food and Fast Food in the USA Introduction There has been a debate on the extent to which junk food and fast food have an effect on the lives of the US citizens. Given that junk food makes more than a quarter of the US diet I will be important to look into the main reason as to why there has been increased debate about the effect of consumption of junk food to human beings. Most people argue that consumption of junk food has negative effects to the health of human beings. Others argue that the effects of consumption of junk food are always exaggerated and that junk food can be harmless if consumed moderately. This paper aims at looking at the effect of consumption of junk food in the USA. Findings Over the past years, it has been noted that the rate at which obesity cases have been increasing in the United States of America is wanting. One of the reasons as to why this trend is believed to exist is because of the increase in the rate at which the United States of America consumes junk food (Smith 111). A research carried in the year 2010 by a journal, it was found that a fast food lunch package for a single person would have calorie content of up to 850 calories (Lambert 2). However, recent studies have discovered that the calorie content would get to 1000 calories. Given the fact that women usually need less calories daily as compared to men they are the most affected by the consumption of junk food (Napoli 3). According to a study that was carried out in the year 2012 junk food consumption was discovered to be the most common of the behavioral causes of obesity in the USA (Pereira 38). Apart from the fact that the consumption of junk food is commonly associated with obesity, excessive consumption of junk food can also lead to diseases such as diabetes. This is particularly very true for the case of junk food consumers in the United States of America (Collins). According to a study carried out by Lancet people who consume junk food about four times in a week have higher risks of getting type 2 diabetes. This is particularly backed by studies that were carried out by a number of hospitals in the United States of America, which led to the discovery that a majority of patients that were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes were regular junk food consumers (Currie 22). The reason given for this increase is the fact that people who consume junk food regularly gain more weight, which lead to an increase in insulin resistance (St-Onge, Keller, and Heymsfield 1071). This state occurs as a result of the failure of the hormone insulin in the regulation of the levels of glucose in the body (Preedy, Hunter and Patel 188). Vegetables and fruits are very important in the health of human beings. However, the unfortunate thing is that most junk food, lack fruits or vegetables in them (Edwards, and‎ Linklater 123). Looking at the junk foods that are highly consumed in the United State of America someone will easily notice that the producers usually pay no attention to vegetables and fruits during the production of their products (Orel). Even those who pay attention to vegetable make it so minimal that the effect might not be beneficial to the consumers. However, vegetables and fruits play a very important role in the balancing of high fat foods and reducing their negative effect to the health of junk food consumers (Holguin). This has been discovered to have some negative effect of the human blood vessels. There is always an abnormal functioning of the human blood vessel about five hours after the consumption of junk food (Binkley, Eales and Jekanowski 1033). This is not a good thing for people with coronary disease because it leads to an increase in the possibility of occurrence of health complications such as stroke or heart attack. Conclusion It is clearly evident that the consumption of junk food is slowly growing to be something of big concern for the health of US citizens. As shown in the findings of this research there has been an increase in the quantities of junk food that is consumed by US residents on a daily basis. As a result of the high rate of consumption of junk food, there has been a notable increase in the negative effects of consuming junk food. This is even backed by the statistics that proves that there has been an increase of junk food related health problems in the last few years (Anderson and Matsa 166). The findings lead to the realization of the fact that consumption of junk food has had a negative impact on the health of the people who consume them especially those who do so on a regular basis. There are no signs of decrease in the rate at which people consume junk (Kirkpatrick). Therefore, the negative effects are only likely to get more prevalent. One thing that is believed to lead to the increase in the rate at which people increase their consumption of junk food is the change in lifestyle especially among the working class. People have to work for longer hours, meaning that they are left with very minimal time to prepare proper food. Another thing is the fact that junk food are always enticing and easily accessible making it easier for people to buy and consuming them (Paeratakul 1334). Sensitization has not been able to prevent the US citizens from consuming junk food in high quantities. There is a possibility of there being more sensitive about the negative effect of excessive or regular consumption of junk food (Bowman and Vinyard 166). However, the disadvantage of such endeavors is that it will have a negative impact on the junk food production in the United States of America. However, it is important for the people of the United States of America know the effect of the food that they consume to their health. This will help them in making informed decisions on what and what not to consume. Work cited Anderson, Michael L., and David A. Matsa. "Are restaurants really supersizing America?." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics (2011): 152-188. Binkley, James K., James Eales, and Mark Jekanowski. "The relation between dietary change and rising US obesity." International journal of obesity 24.8 (2000): 1032-1039. Bowman, Shanthy A., and Bryan T. Vinyard. "Fast food consumption of US adults: impact on energy and nutrient intakes and overweight status." Journal of the American College of Nutrition 23.2 (2004): 163-168. Collins, Karen R.D.” Junk Food Make Up Quarter of US Diet” NCBNEWS, 16 Jul. 2000. Web. 3 Sept. 2014. http://www.nbcnews.com/id/5444256/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/t/junk-food-makes-quarter-us-diet/#.VAbs8qPlyAc Currie, Janet, et al. The effect of fast food restaurants on obesity and weight gain. No. w14721. National Bureau of Economic Research, 2009. Edwards, Lynda , ‎Eric Schlosser, and ‎Richard Linklater.Fast Food Nation. Leamington Spa: Scholastic, 2009. Print. Holguin, Jaime. “Fast Food Linked To Child Obesity” CBSNews, 5 Jan. 2004. Web. 3 Sept. 2014. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fast-food-linked-to-child-obesity/ Kirkpatrick, Kristine. “Fast Foods Immediate Damage To Your Health.” HUFFPOST HEALTHY LIVING, 3 Dec. 2012. Web. Web. 3 Sept. 2014. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/27/fast-food-health-arteries-beauty_n_2198725.html Lambert, Calvin. “The Way We Eat Now.” Harvard Magazine. (2004): 2. Napoli, Maryann.” Health Consequences Of Too Much Fast Food” Healthfacts 30.2 (2005): 3. Orel,Keneth M. “The Real Truth - Eating Yourself to Death – The Junk Food Epidemic” The Real Truth: A magazine restoring plain understanding Paeratakul, Sahasporn, et al. "Fast-food consumption among US adults and children: dietary and nutrient intake profile." Journal of the American Dietetic Association 103.10 (2003): 1332-1338. Pereira, Mark A., et al. "Fast-food habits, weight gain, and insulin resistance (the CARDIA study): 15-year prospective analysis." The Lancet 365.9453 (2005): 36-42. Preedy, Victor R, Lan-Anh Hunter, and Vinood B. Patel. Diet Quality: An Evidence-Based Approach. New York, NY: Humana Press, 2013. Smith, Andrew F. Fast Food and Junk Food: An Encyclopedia of What We Love to Eat. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood, 2012. Print. St-Onge, Marie-Pierre, Kathleen L. Keller, and Steven B. Heymsfield. "Changes in childhood food consumption patterns: a cause for concern in light of increasing body weights." The American journal of clinical nutrition 78.6 (2003): 1068-1073. Read More