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Most of us literally crave for it and we cant get rid of these cravings unless we fill our stomach with a heavy cheese burger. Our urge for eating such food is increased by mouth watering commercials and pamphlets of restaurants everywhere. Common fast foods include pizza, burgers, sandwiches, chips, soups etc.
Now a days, kids are becoming very addicted to it and that’s why they are gaining serious health problems from early age. Office employees are gaining weight at desk jobs because of junk food orders during lunch break. You can read about this office weight gain problem in another Article.
What happens if you eat junk food everyday? The hazards of eating too much junk food are as follows:
12 Reasons Junk food is bad for your health!
1. Heart Diseases
Fast foods contain trans fatty acids in them that increases the risk of heart diseases by 80%.Trans fatty acids have the tendency to obstruct the arteries and can lead to increase cholesterol in blood. Junk food also damages the blood vessels causing inflammation. This causes blockage to the blood flow of heart leading to heart attacks.
2. Type 2 Diabetes
Most common causes of Type 2 diabetes is obesity and physical inactivity. Now you can order a delicious meal by just making a phone call. Modern technology has made human beings very lazy. This sedentary lifestyle keeps on making us fat and in turn risk for Type 2 diabetes increases many fold.
3. Obesity
The people who regularly eat fast food become addicted to it. They lose their interest in regular diet and start having more and more junk food resulting in obesity. This obesity is increasing alarmingly in kids these days who have adopted very unhealthy lifestyle. They are consuming more calories and less fibers. Obesity is the root of many diseases that damage our health to a great extent. Office workers are also among main victims. We have another article to cover how to prevent weight gain at desk job?.
4. Cancer
Junk food has many hidden precursors that can initiate cancer in you within no time. So if you are consuming fast food too much than you are at an increased risk of cancer. According to a research, people who eat at restaurants twice in a week are more likely to get cancer.
5. Depression
Junk food causes lot of hormonal changes in teenagers that lead to mood swings and behavioral change. Due to these changes, teenagers become very susceptible to depression. On the other hand, healthy diet has the opposite effect on our health as it maintains the hormonal balance.
6. Harmful Effects on Brain Functionality
Memory impairment is the most hazardous effect on brain function. Trans fats starts replacing healthy fats and thus interfere with signalling mechanism in brain.Learning is also impaired and kids are often very poor at studies.
7. Kidney Malfunctioning
Have you ever thought why you cant say no to those yummy fries? There is a reason behind it. Junk food contains large amount of refined salt that causes excessive salivation and secretion of enzymes that make your mouth water. In this way you will crave for such foods more and more. Such excessive salt causes hypertension and directly interferes with kidney function because it has to excrete such toxins.
8. Loss of Appetite
Fast food has a very adverse effect on health. It causes loss of appetite because person is unable to digest food properly. Also it lacks appetizers found in normal food. So digestion becomes abnormal and even food poisoning can occur very commonly. Stomach needs are not met and its system becomes disturbed.
9. Peptic Ulcer
Peptic ulcer is also a very common complaint of people who eat junk food. It is an ulcer of the acidic part of gastrointestinal tract so its extremely painful and it aggravates with eating spicy food. Fast food due to its high spice is always linked to peptic ulcer.
10. Lower IQ in Children
Junk food retards the mental growth of children. According to a research, children who have eaten such food in their childhood instead of fruits and vegetables have 5 times lower IQ than others. Also this retarded growth cant be reversed later no matter how much healthy diet you take in young age.
11. Acne Problem
Chocolates and other sweets are always regarded as the culprits behind acne. These are in fact the carbohydrates that matter because they increase the sugar level in blood that triggers acne.According to a research, children who are addicted to fast food have a higher risk of getting eczema.
12. Respiratory Problems
Junk food causes obesity which in turn is associated with an increased risk of breathing problems. Shortness of breath and sleep apnea are common complaints. Those children are at the risk of even getting asthma who consume fast food 2 to 3 times a week.
How to Fix Fast Food Addiction?
i. The food in the restaurants must be inspected time to time to ensure good quality of food.
ii. Tax must be applied on foods containing sufficient amount of saturated fats.
iii. Advertisement of food containing high fat content must be banned specially during children shows.
iv. On personal level, we should also restrict fast food use by eating at home.
v. Children must be given their own lunch boxes so they avoid buying junk food from elsewhere.
