Frontiers for Young Minds

Frontiers for Young Minds

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The Impacts of Junk Food on Health

junk food research paper

Energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods, otherwise known as junk foods, have never been more accessible and available. Young people are bombarded with unhealthy junk-food choices daily, and this can lead to life-long dietary habits that are difficult to undo. In this article, we explore the scientific evidence behind both the short-term and long-term impacts of junk food consumption on our health.

Introduction

The world is currently facing an obesity epidemic, which puts people at risk for chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes. Junk food can contribute to obesity and yet it is becoming a part of our everyday lives because of our fast-paced lifestyles. Life can be jam-packed when you are juggling school, sport, and hanging with friends and family! Junk food companies make food convenient, tasty, and affordable, so it has largely replaced preparing and eating healthy homemade meals. Junk foods include foods like burgers, fried chicken, and pizza from fast-food restaurants, as well as packaged foods like chips, biscuits, and ice-cream, sugar-sweetened beverages like soda, fatty meats like bacon, sugary cereals, and frozen ready meals like lasagne. These are typically highly processed foods , meaning several steps were involved in making the food, with a focus on making them tasty and thus easy to overeat. Unfortunately, junk foods provide lots of calories and energy, but little of the vital nutrients our bodies need to grow and be healthy, like proteins, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Australian teenagers aged 14–18 years get more than 40% of their daily energy from these types of foods, which is concerning [ 1 ]. Junk foods are also known as discretionary foods , which means they are “not needed to meet nutrient requirements and do not belong to the five food groups” [ 2 ]. According to the dietary guidelines of Australian and many other countries, these five food groups are grains and cereals, vegetables and legumes, fruits, dairy and dairy alternatives, and meat and meat alternatives.

Young people are often the targets of sneaky advertising tactics by junk food companies, which show our heroes and icons promoting junk foods. In Australia, cricket, one of our favorite sports, is sponsored by a big fast-food brand. Elite athletes like cricket players are not fuelling their bodies with fried chicken, burgers, and fries! A study showed that adolescents aged 12–17 years view over 14.4 million food advertisements in a single year on popular websites, with cakes, cookies, and ice cream being the most frequently advertised products [ 3 ]. Another study examining YouTube videos popular amongst children reported that 38% of all ads involved a food or beverage and 56% of those food ads were for junk foods [ 4 ].

What Happens to Our Bodies Shortly After We Eat Junk Foods?

Food is made up of three major nutrients: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. There are also vitamins and minerals in food that support good health, growth, and development. Getting the proper nutrition is very important during our teenage years. However, when we eat junk foods, we are consuming high amounts of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, which are quickly absorbed by the body.

Let us take the example of eating a hamburger. A burger typically contains carbohydrates from the bun, proteins and fats from the beef patty, and fats from the cheese and sauce. On average, a burger from a fast-food chain contains 36–40% of your daily energy needs and this does not account for any chips or drinks consumed with it ( Figure 1 ). This is a large amount of food for the body to digest—not good if you are about to hit the cricket pitch!

Figure 1 - The nutritional composition of a popular burger from a famous fast-food restaurant, detailing the average quantity per serving and per 100 g.

  • Figure 1 - The nutritional composition of a popular burger from a famous fast-food restaurant, detailing the average quantity per serving and per 100 g.
  • The carbohydrates of a burger are mainly from the bun, while the protein comes from the beef patty. Large amounts of fat come from the cheese and sauce. Based on the Australian dietary guidelines, just one burger can be 36% of the recommended daily energy intake for teenage boys aged 12–15 years and 40% of the recommendations for teenage girls 12–15 years.

A few hours to a few days after eating rich, heavy foods such as a burger, unpleasant symptoms like tiredness, poor sleep, and even hunger can result ( Figure 2 ). Rather than providing an energy boost, junk foods can lead to a lack of energy. For a short time, sugar (a type of carbohydrate) makes people feel energized, happy, and upbeat as it is used by the body for energy. However, refined sugar , which is the type of sugar commonly found in junk foods, leads to a quick drop in blood sugar levels because it is digested quickly by the body. This can lead tiredness and cravings [ 5 ].

Figure 2 - The short- and long-term impacts of junk food consumption.

  • Figure 2 - The short- and long-term impacts of junk food consumption.
  • In the short-term, junk foods can make you feel tired, bloated, and unable to concentrate. Long-term, junk foods can lead to tooth decay and poor bowel habits. Junk foods can also lead to obesity and associated diseases such as heart disease. When junk foods are regularly consumed over long periods of time, the damages and complications to health are increasingly costly.

Fiber is a good carbohydrate commonly found in vegetables, fruits, barley, legumes, nuts, and seeds—foods from the five food groups. Fiber not only keeps the digestive system healthy, but also slows the stomach’s emptying process, keeping us feeling full for longer. Junk foods tend to lack fiber, so when we eat them, we notice decreasing energy and increasing hunger sooner.

Foods such as walnuts, berries, tuna, and green veggies can boost concentration levels. This is particularly important for young minds who are doing lots of schoolwork. These foods are what most elite athletes are eating! On the other hand, eating junk foods can lead to poor concentration. Eating junk foods can lead to swelling in the part of the brain that has a major role in memory. A study performed in humans showed that eating an unhealthy breakfast high in fat and sugar for 4 days in a row caused disruptions to the learning and memory parts of the brain [ 6 ].

Long-Term Impacts of Junk Foods

If we eat mostly junk foods over many weeks, months, or years, there can be several long-term impacts on health ( Figure 2 ). For example, high saturated fat intake is strongly linked with high levels of bad cholesterol in the blood, which can be a sign of heart disease. Respected research studies found that young people who eat only small amounts of saturated fat have lower total cholesterol levels [ 7 ].

Frequent consumption of junk foods can also increase the risk of diseases such as hypertension and stroke. Hypertension is also known as high blood pressure and a stroke is damage to the brain from reduced blood supply, which prevents the brain from receiving the oxygen and nutrients it needs to survive. Hypertension and stroke can occur because of the high amounts of cholesterol and salt in junk foods.

Furthermore, junk foods can trigger the “happy hormone,” dopamine , to be released in the brain, making us feel good when we eat these foods. This can lead us to wanting more junk food to get that same happy feeling again [ 8 ]. Other long-term effects of eating too much junk food include tooth decay and constipation. Soft drinks, for instance, can cause tooth decay due to high amounts of sugar and acid that can wear down the protective tooth enamel. Junk foods are typically low in fiber too, which has negative consequences for gut health in the long term. Fiber forms the bulk of our poop and without it, it can be hard to poop!

Tips for Being Healthy

One way to figure out whether a food is a junk food is to think about how processed it is. When we think of foods in their whole and original forms, like a fresh tomato, a grain of rice, or milk squeezed from a cow, we can then start to imagine how many steps are involved to transform that whole food into something that is ready-to-eat, tasty, convenient, and has a long shelf life.

For teenagers 13–14 years old, the recommended daily energy intake is 8,200–9,900 kJ/day or 1,960 kcal-2,370 kcal/day for boys and 7,400–8,200 kJ/day or 1,770–1,960 kcal for girls, according to the Australian dietary guidelines. Of course, the more physically active you are, the higher your energy needs. Remember that junk foods are okay to eat occasionally, but they should not make up more than 10% of your daily energy intake. In a day, this may be a simple treat such as a small muffin or a few squares of chocolate. On a weekly basis, this might mean no more than two fast-food meals per week. The remaining 90% of food eaten should be from the five food groups.

In conclusion, we know that junk foods are tasty, affordable, and convenient. This makes it hard to limit the amount of junk food we eat. However, if junk foods become a staple of our diets, there can be negative impacts on our health. We should aim for high-fiber foods such as whole grains, vegetables, and fruits; meals that have moderate amounts of sugar and salt; and calcium-rich and iron-rich foods. Healthy foods help to build strong bodies and brains. Limiting junk food intake can happen on an individual level, based on our food choices, or through government policies and health-promotion strategies. We need governments to stop junk food companies from advertising to young people, and we need their help to replace junk food restaurants with more healthy options. Researchers can focus on education and health promotion around healthy food options and can work with young people to develop solutions. If we all work together, we can help young people across the world to make food choices that will improve their short and long-term health.

Obesity : ↑ A disorder where too much body fat increases the risk of health problems.

Processed Food : ↑ A raw agricultural food that has undergone processes to be washed, ground, cleaned and/or cooked further.

Discretionary Food : ↑ Foods and drinks not necessary to provide the nutrients the body needs but that may add variety to a person’s diet (according to the Australian dietary guidelines).

Refined Sugar : ↑ Sugar that has been processed from raw sources such as sugar cane, sugar beets or corn.

Saturated Fat : ↑ A type of fat commonly eaten from animal sources such as beef, chicken and pork, which typically promotes the production of “bad” cholesterol in the body.

Dopamine : ↑ A hormone that is released when the brain is expecting a reward and is associated with activities that generate pleasure, such as eating or shopping.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

[1] ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2013. 4324.0.55.002 - Microdata: Australian Health Survey: Nutrition and Physical Activity, 2011-12 . Australian Bureau of Statistics. Available online at: http://bit.ly/2jkRRZO (accessed December 13, 2019).

[2] ↑ National Health and Medical Research Council. 2013. Australian Dietary Guidelines Summary . Canberra, ACT: National Health and Medical Research Council.

[3] ↑ Potvin Kent, M., and Pauzé, E. 2018. The frequency and healthfulness of food and beverages advertised on adolescents’ preferred web sites in Canada. J. Adolesc. Health. 63:102–7. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.01.007

[4] ↑ Tan, L., Ng, S. H., Omar, A., and Karupaiah, T. 2018. What’s on YouTube? A case study on food and beverage advertising in videos targeted at children on social media. Child Obes. 14:280–90. doi: 10.1089/chi.2018.0037

[5] ↑ Gómez-Pinilla, F. 2008. Brain foods: the effects of nutrients on brain function. Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 9, 568–78. doi: 10.1038/nrn2421

[6] ↑ Attuquayefio, T., Stevenson, R. J., Oaten, M. J., and Francis, H. M. 2017. A four-day western-style dietary intervention causes reductions in hippocampal-dependent learning and memory and interoceptive sensitivity. PLoS ONE . 12:e0172645. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0172645

[7] ↑ Te Morenga, L., and Montez, J. 2017. Health effects of saturated and trans-fatty acid intake in children and adolescents: systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS ONE. 12:e0186672. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0186672

[8] ↑ Reichelt, A. C. 2016. Adolescent maturational transitions in the prefrontal cortex and dopamine signaling as a risk factor for the development of obesity and high fat/high sugar diet induced cognitive deficits. Front. Behav. Neurosci. 10. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00189

Junk Food Availability in Schools Raises Obesity

Schools that are under financial pressure are more likely to make junk food available to their students.

Researchers and public health officials are currently at a loss to explain the rapid rise in weight problems among children and adolescents that began in the 1980s. Concerns about the long-term health consequences of overweight have ignited a debate about school policies that make junk food available to students in school. While the revenues generated by in-school junk food sales fund a wide variety of discretionary school programs, some school district officials consider the link between junk food and overweight intuitively plausible. They have instituted policies to ban or reduce access to junk food despite the fact that little is known about whether access to junk foods in school really does contribute to obesity.

In Reading, Writing and Raisinets: Are School Finances Contributing to Children's Obesity? (NBER Working Paper No. 11177 ), co-authors Patricia Anderson and Kristin Butcher combine data from several sources to examine both the effect of financial pressure on school food policies and whether these school food policies help create overweight adolescents. They find that schools that are under financial pressure are more likely to make junk food available to their students, to have "pouring rights" contracts, and to allow food and beverage advertising to students. By using measures that capture financial pressure to predict the fraction of schools in a county with these particular food policies, they then estimate the effect of the fraction of schools in a county with these food policies on adolescent body mass index (BMI).

They find that it is the actual availability of junk food, rather than advertising or pouring rights, that is associated with weight gain. In general, "a 10 percentage point increase in the proportion of schools with junk food is correlated with about a 1 percent higher BMI for the average student."

The authors caution that their results do not imply that every student who can buy junk food at school will suffer from overweight. The effect of junk food availability is statistically different for adolescents whose parents are overweight. Access to junk food in school has no effect on the 44 percent of students whose parents have normal weights. For those with an overweight parent, who may have a genetic susceptibility to weight gain, a 10 percent increase in the proportion of schools that make junk food available increases BMI by more than 2 percent.

Though junk food at school may pose a health risk to some students susceptible to obesity, existing junk food policies help generate funds for programs that benefit all students, Anderson and Butcher note. They further point out that the substitute foods allowed by official policies banning junk food and soda often allow products, like fruit juice, that contain just as many calories. The authors recommend that officials considering a change in school food policies weigh the health costs borne by the fraction of students susceptible to obesity against the benefits conferred by the programs funded by in-school junk food sales

-- Linda Gorman

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  • Published: 06 December 2017

Healthy food choices are happy food choices: Evidence from a real life sample using smartphone based assessments

  • Deborah R. Wahl 1   na1 ,
  • Karoline Villinger 1   na1 ,
  • Laura M. König   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3655-8842 1 ,
  • Katrin Ziesemer 1 ,
  • Harald T. Schupp 1 &
  • Britta Renner 1  

Scientific Reports volume  7 , Article number:  17069 ( 2017 ) Cite this article

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  • Health sciences
  • Human behaviour

Research suggests that “healthy” food choices such as eating fruits and vegetables have not only physical but also mental health benefits and might be a long-term investment in future well-being. This view contrasts with the belief that high-caloric foods taste better, make us happy, and alleviate a negative mood. To provide a more comprehensive assessment of food choice and well-being, we investigated in-the-moment eating happiness by assessing complete, real life dietary behaviour across eight days using smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment. Three main findings emerged: First, of 14 different main food categories, vegetables consumption contributed the largest share to eating happiness measured across eight days. Second, sweets on average provided comparable induced eating happiness to “healthy” food choices such as fruits or vegetables. Third, dinner elicited comparable eating happiness to snacking. These findings are discussed within the “food as health” and “food as well-being” perspectives on eating behaviour.

Introduction

When it comes to eating, researchers, the media, and policy makers mainly focus on negative aspects of eating behaviour, like restricting certain foods, counting calories, and dieting. Likewise, health intervention efforts, including primary prevention campaigns, typically encourage consumers to trade off the expected enjoyment of hedonic and comfort foods against health benefits 1 . However, research has shown that diets and restrained eating are often counterproductive and may even enhance the risk of long-term weight gain and eating disorders 2 , 3 . A promising new perspective entails a shift from food as pure nourishment towards a more positive and well-being centred perspective of human eating behaviour 1 , 4 , 5 . In this context, Block et al . 4 have advocated a paradigm shift from “food as health” to “food as well-being” (p. 848).

Supporting this perspective of “food as well-being”, recent research suggests that “healthy” food choices, such as eating more fruits and vegetables, have not only physical but also mental health benefits 6 , 7 and might be a long-term investment in future well-being 8 . For example, in a nationally representative panel survey of over 12,000 adults from Australia, Mujcic and Oswald 8 showed that fruit and vegetable consumption predicted increases in happiness, life satisfaction, and well-being over two years. Similarly, using lagged analyses, White and colleagues 9 showed that fruit and vegetable consumption predicted improvements in positive affect on the subsequent day but not vice versa. Also, cross-sectional evidence reported by Blanchflower et al . 10 shows that eating fruits and vegetables is positively associated with well-being after adjusting for demographic variables including age, sex, or race 11 . Of note, previous research includes a wide range of time lags between actual eating occasion and well-being assessment, ranging from 24 hours 9 , 12 to 14 days 6 , to 24 months 8 . Thus, the findings support the notion that fruit and vegetable consumption has beneficial effects on different indicators of well-being, such as happiness or general life satisfaction, across a broad range of time spans.

The contention that healthy food choices such as a higher fruit and vegetable consumption is associated with greater happiness and well-being clearly contrasts with the common belief that in particular high-fat, high-sugar, or high-caloric foods taste better and make us happy while we are eating them. When it comes to eating, people usually have a spontaneous “unhealthy = tasty” association 13 and assume that chocolate is a better mood booster than an apple. According to this in-the-moment well-being perspective, consumers have to trade off the expected enjoyment of eating against the health costs of eating unhealthy foods 1 , 4 .

A wealth of research shows that the experience of negative emotions and stress leads to increased consumption in a substantial number of individuals (“emotional eating”) of unhealthy food (“comfort food”) 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 . However, this research stream focuses on emotional eating to “smooth” unpleasant experiences in response to stress or negative mood states, and the mood-boosting effect of eating is typically not assessed 18 . One of the few studies testing the effectiveness of comfort food in improving mood showed that the consumption of “unhealthy” comfort food had a mood boosting effect after a negative mood induction but not to a greater extent than non-comfort or neutral food 19 . Hence, even though people may believe that snacking on “unhealthy” foods like ice cream or chocolate provides greater pleasure and psychological benefits, the consumption of “unhealthy” foods might not actually be more psychologically beneficial than other foods.

However, both streams of research have either focused on a single food category (fruit and vegetable consumption), a single type of meal (snacking), or a single eating occasion (after negative/neutral mood induction). Accordingly, it is unknown whether the boosting effect of eating is specific to certain types of food choices and categories or whether eating has a more general boosting effect that is observable after the consumption of both “healthy” and “unhealthy” foods and across eating occasions. Accordingly, in the present study, we investigated the psychological benefits of eating that varied by food categories and meal types by assessing complete dietary behaviour across eight days in real life.

Furthermore, previous research on the impact of eating on well-being tended to rely on retrospective assessments such as food frequency questionnaires 8 , 10 and written food diaries 9 . Such retrospective self-report methods rely on the challenging task of accurately estimating average intake or remembering individual eating episodes and may lead to under-reporting food intake, particularly unhealthy food choices such as snacks 7 , 20 . To avoid memory and bias problems in the present study we used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) 21 to obtain ecologically valid and comprehensive real life data on eating behaviour and happiness as experienced in-the-moment.

In the present study, we examined the eating happiness and satisfaction experienced in-the-moment, in real time and in real life, using a smartphone based EMA approach. Specifically, healthy participants were asked to record each eating occasion, including main meals and snacks, for eight consecutive days and rate how tasty their meal/snack was, how much they enjoyed it, and how pleased they were with their meal/snack immediately after each eating episode. This intense recording of every eating episode allows assessing eating behaviour on the level of different meal types and food categories to compare experienced eating happiness across meals and categories. Following the two different research streams, we expected on a food category level that not only “unhealthy” foods like sweets would be associated with high experienced eating happiness but also “healthy” food choices such as fruits and vegetables. On a meal type level, we hypothesised that the happiness of meals differs as a function of meal type. According to previous contention, snacking in particular should be accompanied by greater happiness.

Eating episodes

Overall, during the study period, a total of 1,044 completed eating episodes were reported (see also Table  1 ). On average, participants rated their eating happiness with M  = 77.59 which suggests that overall eating occasions were generally positive. However, experienced eating happiness also varied considerably between eating occasions as indicated by a range from 7.00 to 100.00 and a standard deviation of SD  = 16.41.

Food categories and experienced eating happiness

All eating episodes were categorised according to their food category based on the German Nutrient Database (German: Bundeslebensmittelschlüssel), which covers the average nutritional values of approximately 10,000 foods available on the German market and is a validated standard instrument for the assessment of nutritional surveys in Germany. As shown in Table  1 , eating happiness differed significantly across all 14 food categories, F (13, 2131) = 1.78, p  = 0.04. On average, experienced eating happiness varied from 71.82 ( SD  = 18.65) for fish to 83.62 ( SD  = 11.61) for meat substitutes. Post hoc analysis, however, did not yield significant differences in experienced eating happiness between food categories, p  ≥ 0.22. Hence, on average, “unhealthy” food choices such as sweets ( M  = 78.93, SD  = 15.27) did not differ in experienced happiness from “healthy” food choices such as fruits ( M  = 78.29, SD  = 16.13) or vegetables ( M  = 77.57, SD  = 17.17). In addition, an intraclass correlation (ICC) of ρ = 0.22 for happiness indicated that less than a quarter of the observed variation in experienced eating happiness was due to differences between food categories, while 78% of the variation was due to differences within food categories.

However, as Figure  1 (left side) depicts, consumption frequency differed greatly across food categories. Frequently consumed food categories encompassed vegetables which were consumed at 38% of all eating occasions ( n  = 400), followed by dairy products with 35% ( n  = 366), and sweets with 34% ( n  = 356). Conversely, rarely consumed food categories included meat substitutes, which were consumed in 2.2% of all eating occasions ( n  = 23), salty extras (1.5%, n  = 16), and pastries (1.3%, n  = 14).

figure 1

Left side: Average experienced eating happiness (colour intensity: darker colours indicate greater happiness) and consumption frequency (size of the cycle) for the 14 food categories. Right side: Absolute share of the 14 food categories in total experienced eating happiness.

Amount of experienced eating happiness by food category

To account for the frequency of consumption, we calculated and scaled the absolute experienced eating happiness according to the total sum score. As shown in Figure  1 (right side), vegetables contributed the biggest share to the total happiness followed by sweets, dairy products, and bread. Clustering food categories shows that fruits and vegetables accounted for nearly one quarter of total eating happiness score and thus, contributed to a large part of eating related happiness. Grain products such as bread, pasta, and cereals, which are main sources of carbohydrates including starch and fibre, were the second main source for eating happiness. However, “unhealthy” snacks including sweets, salty extras, and pastries represented the third biggest source of eating related happiness.

Experienced eating happiness by meal type

To further elucidate the contribution of snacks to eating happiness, analysis on the meal type level was conducted. Experienced in-the-moment eating happiness significantly varied by meal type consumed, F (4, 1039) = 11.75, p  < 0.001. Frequencies of meal type consumption ranged from snacks being the most frequently logged meal type ( n  = 332; see also Table  1 ) to afternoon tea being the least logged meal type ( n  = 27). Figure  2 illustrates the wide dispersion within as well as between different meal types. Afternoon tea ( M  = 82.41, SD  = 15.26), dinner ( M  = 81.47, SD  = 14.73), and snacks ( M  = 79.45, SD  = 14.94) showed eating happiness values above the grand mean, whereas breakfast ( M  = 74.28, SD  = 16.35) and lunch ( M  = 73.09, SD  = 18.99) were below the eating happiness mean. Comparisons between meal types showed that eating happiness for snacks was significantly higher than for lunch t (533) = −4.44, p  = 0.001, d  = −0.38 and breakfast, t (567) = −3.78, p  = 0.001, d  = −0.33. However, this was also true for dinner, which induced greater eating happiness than lunch t (446) = −5.48, p  < 0.001, d  = −0.50 and breakfast, t (480) = −4.90, p  < 0.001, d  = −0.46. Finally, eating happiness for afternoon tea was greater than for lunch t (228) = −2.83, p  = 0.047, d  = −0.50. All other comparisons did not reach significance, t  ≤ 2.49, p  ≥ 0.093.

figure 2

Experienced eating happiness per meal type. Small dots represent single eating events, big circles indicate average eating happiness, and the horizontal line indicates the grand mean. Boxes indicate the middle 50% (interquartile range) and median (darker/lighter shade). The whiskers above and below represent 1.5 of the interquartile range.

Control Analyses

In order to test for a potential confounding effect between experienced eating happiness, food categories, and meal type, additional control analyses within meal types were conducted. Comparing experienced eating happiness for dinner and lunch suggested that dinner did not trigger a happiness spill-over effect specific to vegetables since the foods consumed at dinner were generally associated with greater happiness than those consumed at other eating occasions (Supplementary Table  S1 ). Moreover, the relative frequency of vegetables consumed at dinner (73%, n  = 180 out of 245) and at lunch were comparable (69%, n  = 140 out of 203), indicating that the observed happiness-vegetables link does not seem to be mainly a meal type confounding effect.

Since the present study focuses on “food effects” (Level 1) rather than “person effects” (Level 2), we analysed the data at the food item level. However, participants who were generally overall happier with their eating could have inflated the observed happiness scores for certain food categories. In order to account for person-level effects, happiness scores were person-mean centred and thereby adjusted for mean level differences in happiness. The person-mean centred happiness scores ( M cwc ) represent the difference between the individual’s average happiness score (across all single in-the-moment happiness scores per food category) and the single happiness scores of the individual within the respective food category. The centred scores indicate whether the single in-the-moment happiness score was above (indicated by positive values) or below (indicated by negative values) the individual person-mean. As Table  1 depicts, the control analyses with centred values yielded highly similar results. Vegetables were again associated on average with more happiness than other food categories (although people might differ in their general eating happiness). An additional conducted ANOVA with person-centred happiness values as dependent variables and food categories as independent variables provided also a highly similar pattern of results. Replicating the previously reported analysis, eating happiness differed significantly across all 14 food categories, F (13, 2129) = 1.94, p  = 0.023, and post hoc analysis did not yield significant differences in experienced eating happiness between food categories, p  ≥ 0.14. Moreover, fruits and vegetables were associated with high happiness values, and “unhealthy” food choices such as sweets did not differ in experienced happiness from “healthy” food choices such as fruits or vegetables. The only difference between the previous and control analysis was that vegetables ( M cwc  = 1.16, SD  = 15.14) gained slightly in importance for eating-related happiness, whereas fruits ( M cwc  = −0.65, SD  = 13.21), salty extras ( M cwc  = −0.07, SD  = 8.01), and pastries ( M cwc  = −2.39, SD  = 18.26) became slightly less important.

This study is the first, to our knowledge, that investigated in-the-moment experienced eating happiness in real time and real life using EMA based self-report and imagery covering the complete diversity of food intake. The present results add to and extend previous findings by suggesting that fruit and vegetable consumption has immediate beneficial psychological effects. Overall, of 14 different main food categories, vegetables consumption contributed the largest share to eating happiness measured across eight days. Thus, in addition to the investment in future well-being indicated by previous research 8 , “healthy” food choices seem to be an investment in the in-the moment well-being.

Importantly, although many cultures convey the belief that eating certain foods has a greater hedonic and mood boosting effect, the present results suggest that this might not reflect actual in-the-moment experiences accurately. Even though people often have a spontaneous “unhealthy = tasty” intuition 13 , thus indicating that a stronger happiness boosting effect of “unhealthy” food is to be expected, the induced eating happiness of sweets did not differ on average from “healthy” food choices such as fruits or vegetables. This was also true for other stereotypically “unhealthy” foods such as pastries and salty extras, which did not show the expected greater boosting effect on happiness. Moreover, analyses on the meal type level support this notion, since snacks, despite their overall positive effect, were not the most psychologically beneficial meal type, i.e., dinner had a comparable “happiness” signature to snacking. Taken together, “healthy choices” seem to be also “happy choices” and at least comparable to or even higher in their hedonic value as compared to stereotypical “unhealthy” food choices.

In general, eating happiness was high, which concurs with previous research from field studies with generally healthy participants. De Castro, Bellisle, and Dalix 22 examined weekly food diaries from 54 French subjects and found that most of the meals were rated as appealing. Also, the observed differences in average eating happiness for the 14 different food categories, albeit statistically significant, were comparable small. One could argue that this simply indicates that participants avoided selecting bad food 22 . Alternatively, this might suggest that the type of food or food categories are less decisive for experienced eating happiness than often assumed. This relates to recent findings in the field of comfort and emotional eating. Many people believe that specific types of food have greater comforting value. Also in research, the foods eaten as response to negative emotional strain, are typically characterised as being high-caloric because such foods are assumed to provide immediate psycho-physical benefits 18 . However, comparing different food types did not provide evidence for the notion that they differed in their provided comfort; rather, eating in general led to significant improvements in mood 19 . This is mirrored in the present findings. Comparing the eating happiness of “healthy” food choices such as fruits and vegetables to that of “unhealthy” food choices such as sweets shows remarkably similar patterns as, on average, they were associated with high eating happiness and their range of experiences ranged from very negative to very positive.

This raises the question of why the idea that we can eat indulgent food to compensate for life’s mishaps is so prevailing. In an innovative experimental study, Adriaanse, Prinsen, de Witt Huberts, de Ridder, and Evers 23 led participants believe that they overate. Those who characterised themselves as emotional eaters falsely attributed their over-consumption to negative emotions, demonstrating a “confabulation”-effect. This indicates that people might have restricted self-knowledge and that recalled eating episodes suffer from systematic recall biases 24 . Moreover, Boelsma, Brink, Stafleu, and Hendriks 25 examined postprandial subjective wellness and objective parameters (e.g., ghrelin, insulin, glucose) after standardised breakfast intakes and did not find direct correlations. This suggests that the impact of different food categories on wellness might not be directly related to biological effects but rather due to conditioning as food is often paired with other positive experienced situations (e.g., social interactions) or to placebo effects 18 . Moreover, experimental and field studies indicate that not only negative, but also positive, emotions trigger eating 15 , 26 . One may speculate that selective attention might contribute to the “myth” of comfort food 19 in that people attend to the consumption effect of “comfort” food in negative situation but neglect the effect in positive ones.

The present data also show that eating behaviour in the real world is a complex behaviour with many different aspects. People make more than 200 food decisions a day 27 which poses a great challenge for the measurement of eating behaviour. Studies often assess specific food categories such as fruit and vegetable consumption using Food Frequency Questionnaires, which has clear advantages in terms of cost-effectiveness. However, focusing on selective aspects of eating and food choices might provide only a selective part of the picture 15 , 17 , 22 . It is important to note that focusing solely on the “unhealthy” food choices such as sweets would have led to the conclusion that they have a high “indulgent” value. To be able to draw conclusions about which foods make people happy, the relation of different food categories needs to be considered. The more comprehensive view, considering the whole dietary behaviour across eating occasions, reveals that “healthy” food choices actually contributed the biggest share to the total experienced eating happiness. Thus, for a more comprehensive understanding of how eating behaviours are regulated, more complete and sensitive measures of the behaviour are necessary. Developments in mobile technologies hold great promise for feasible dietary assessment based on image-assisted methods 28 .

As fruits and vegetables evoked high in-the-moment happiness experiences, one could speculate that these cumulate and have spill-over effects on subsequent general well-being, including life satisfaction across time. Combing in-the-moment measures with longitudinal perspectives might be a promising avenue for future studies for understanding the pathways from eating certain food types to subjective well-being. In the literature different pathways are discussed, including physiological and biochemical aspects of specific food elements or nutrients 7 .

The present EMA based data also revealed that eating happiness varied greatly within the 14 food categories and meal types. As within food category variance represented more than two third of the total observed variance, happiness varied according to nutritional characteristics and meal type; however, a myriad of factors present in the natural environment can affect each and every meal. Thus, widening the “nourishment” perspective by including how much, when, where, how long, and with whom people eat might tell us more about experienced eating happiness. Again, mobile, in-the-moment assessment opens the possibility of assessing the behavioural signature of eating in real life. Moreover, individual factors such as eating motives, habitual eating styles, convenience, and social norms are likely to contribute to eating happiness variance 5 , 29 .

A key strength of this study is that it was the first to examine experienced eating happiness in non-clinical participants using EMA technology and imagery to assess food intake. Despite this strength, there are some limitations to this study that affect the interpretation of the results. In the present study, eating happiness was examined on a food based level. This neglects differences on the individual level and might be examined in future multilevel studies. Furthermore, as a main aim of this study was to assess real life eating behaviour, the “natural” observation level is the meal, the psychological/ecological unit of eating 30 , rather than food categories or nutrients. Therefore, we cannot exclude that specific food categories may have had a comparably higher impact on the experienced happiness of the whole meal. Sample size and therefore Type I and Type II error rates are of concern. Although the total number of observations was higher than in previous studies (see for example, Boushey et al . 28 for a review), the number of participants was small but comparable to previous studies in this field 20 , 31 , 32 , 33 . Small sample sizes can increase error rates because the number of persons is more decisive than the number of nested observations 34 . Specially, nested data can seriously increase Type I error rates, which is rather unlikely to be the case in the present study. Concerning Type II error rates, Aarts et al . 35 illustrated for lower ICCs that adding extra observations per participant also increases power, particularly in the lower observation range. Considering the ICC and the number of observations per participant, one could argue that the power in the present study is likely to be sufficient to render the observed null-differences meaningful. Finally, the predominately white and well-educated sample does limit the degree to which the results can be generalised to the wider community; these results warrant replication with a more representative sample.

Despite these limitations, we think that our study has implications for both theory and practice. The cumulative evidence of psychological benefits from healthy food choices might offer new perspectives for health promotion and public-policy programs 8 . Making people aware of the “healthy = happy” association supported by empirical evidence provides a distinct and novel perspective to the prevailing “unhealthy = tasty” folk intuition and could foster eating choices that increase both in-the-moment happiness and future well-being. Furthermore, the present research lends support to the advocated paradigm shift from “food as health” to “food as well-being” which entails a supporting and encouraging rather constraining and limiting view on eating behaviour.

The study conformed with the Declaration of Helsinki. All study protocols were approved by University of Konstanz’s Institutional Review Board and were conducted in accordance with guidelines and regulations. Upon arrival, all participants signed a written informed consent.

Participants

Thirty-eight participants (28 females: average age = 24.47, SD  = 5.88, range = 18–48 years) from the University of Konstanz assessed their eating behaviour in close to real time and in their natural environment using an event-based ambulatory assessment method (EMA). No participant dropped out or had to be excluded. Thirty-three participants were students, with 52.6% studying psychology. As compensation, participants could choose between taking part in a lottery (4 × 25€) or receiving course credits (2 hours).

Participants were recruited through leaflets distributed at the university and postings on Facebook groups. Prior to participation, all participants gave written informed consent. Participants were invited to the laboratory for individual introductory sessions. During this first session, participants installed the application movisensXS (version 0.8.4203) on their own smartphones and downloaded the study survey (movisensXS Library v4065). In addition, they completed a short baseline questionnaire, including demographic variables like age, gender, education, and eating principles. Participants were instructed to log every eating occasion immediately before eating by using the smartphone to indicate the type of meal, take pictures of the food, and describe its main components using a free input field. Fluid intake was not assessed. Participants were asked to record their food intake on eight consecutive days. After finishing the study, participants were invited back to the laboratory for individual final interviews.

Immediately before eating participants were asked to indicate the type of meal with the following five options: breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, snack. In Germany, “afternoon tea” is called “Kaffee & Kuchen” which directly translates as “coffee & cake”. It is similar to the idea of a traditional “afternoon tea” meal in UK. Specifically, in Germany, people have “Kaffee & Kuchen” in the afternoon (between 4–5 pm) and typically coffee (or tea) is served with some cake or cookies. Dinner in Germany is a main meal with mainly savoury food.

After each meal, participants were asked to rate their meal on three dimensions. They rated (1) how much they enjoyed the meal, (2) how pleased they were with their meal, and (3) how tasty their meal was. Ratings were given on a scale of one to 100. For reliability analysis, Cronbach’s Alpha was calculated to assess the internal consistency of the three items. Overall Cronbach’s alpha was calculated with α = 0.87. In addition, the average of the 38 Cronbach’s alpha scores calculated at the person level also yielded a satisfactory value with α = 0.83 ( SD  = 0.24). Thirty-two of 38 participants showed a Cronbach’s alpha value above 0.70 (range = 0.42–0.97). An overall score of experienced happiness of eating was computed using the average of the three questions concerning the meals’ enjoyment, pleasure, and tastiness.

Analytical procedure

The food pictures and descriptions of their main components provided by the participants were subsequently coded by independent and trained raters. Following a standardised manual, additional components displayed in the picture were added to the description by the raters. All consumed foods were categorised into 14 different food categories (see Table  1 ) derived from the food classification system designed by the German Nutrition Society (DGE) and based on the existing food categories of the German Nutrient Database (Max Rubner Institut). Liquid intake and preparation method were not assessed. Therefore, fats and additional recipe ingredients were not included in further analyses, because they do not represent main elements of food intake. Further, salty extras were added to the categorisation.

No participant dropped out or had to be excluded due to high missing rates. Missing values were below 5% for all variables. The compliance rate at the meal level cannot be directly assessed since the numbers of meals and snacks can vary between as well as within persons (between days). As a rough compliance estimate, the numbers of meals that are expected from a “normative” perspective during the eight observation days can be used as a comparison standard (8 x breakfast, 8 × lunch, 8 × dinner = 24 meals). On average, the participants reported M  = 6.3 breakfasts ( SD  = 2.3), M  = 5.3 lunches ( SD  = 1.8), and M  = 6.5 dinners ( SD  = 2.0). In comparison to the “normative” expected 24 meals, these numbers indicate a good compliance (approx. 75%) with a tendency to miss six meals during the study period (approx. 25%). However, the “normative” expected 24 meals for the study period might be too high since participants might also have skipped meals (e.g. breakfast). Also, the present compliance rates are comparable to other studies. For example, Elliston et al . 36 recorded 3.3 meal/snack reports per day in an Australian adult sample and Casperson et al . 37 recorded 2.2 meal reports per day in a sample of adolescents. In the present study, on average, M  = 3.4 ( SD  = 1.35) meals or snacks were reported per day. These data indicate overall a satisfactory compliance rate and did not indicate selective reporting of certain food items.

To graphically visualise data, Tableau (version 10.1) was used and for further statistical analyses, IBM SPSS Statistics (version 24 for Windows).

Data availability

The dataset generated and analysed during the current study is available from the corresponding authors on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research within the project SmartAct (Grant 01EL1420A, granted to B.R. & H.S.). The funding source had no involvement in the study’s design; the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; the writing of the report; or the decision to submit this article for publication. We thank Gudrun Sproesser, Helge Giese, and Angela Whale for their valuable support.

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Deborah R. Wahl and Karoline Villinger contributed equally to this work.

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Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany

Deborah R. Wahl, Karoline Villinger, Laura M. König, Katrin Ziesemer, Harald T. Schupp & Britta Renner

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B.R. & H.S. developed the study concept. All authors participated in the generation of the study design. D.W., K.V., L.K. & K.Z. conducted the study, including participant recruitment and data collection, under the supervision of B.R. & H.S.; D.W. & K.V. conducted data analyses. D.W. & K.V. prepared the first manuscript draft, and B.R. & H.S. provided critical revisions. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript for submission.

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Wahl, D.R., Villinger, K., König, L.M. et al. Healthy food choices are happy food choices: Evidence from a real life sample using smartphone based assessments. Sci Rep 7 , 17069 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-17262-9

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junk food research paper

Association between junk food consumption and mental health in a national sample of Iranian children and adolescents: the CASPIAN-IV study

Affiliations.

  • 1 Obesity and Eating Habits Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Molecular-Cellular Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
  • 2 Department of Pediatrics, Child Growth and Development Research Center, and Faculty of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
  • 3 Chronic Diseases Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
  • 4 Department of School Health, Bureau of Population, Family and School Health, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran; Department of Pediatrics, Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
  • 5 Obesity and Eating Habits Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Molecular-Cellular Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinical Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
  • 6 Department of School Health, Bureau of Population, Family and School Health, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran.
  • 7 Bureau of Health and Fitness, Ministry of Education and Training, Tehran, Iran.
  • 8 Department of Medical Emergencies, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran.
  • 9 Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinical Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
  • 10 Department of Public Health, Alborz University of Medical Science, Karaj, Iran; Non-Communicable Diseases Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • PMID: 25280418
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.nut.2014.04.014

Objectives: The consumption of high energy and low nutritional content foods, which are known as junk foods, has increased. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between junk food intake and mental health in a national sample of Iranian children and adolescents.

Method: Data were obtained from a surveillance system entitled CASPIAN-IV (Childhood and Adolescence Surveillance and Prevention of Adult Non communicable Disease) study of school students, ages 6 to 18 y in Iran. The students and their parents completed two sets of reliable questionnaires obtained from Global School Health Survey translated to Persian. The student questionnaire comprised several questions such as psychiatric distress (worry, depression, confusion, insomnia, anxiety, aggression, and worthless) and violent behaviors (physical fighting, being a victim, and bullying). The junk foods consisted of sweets, sweetened beverages, fast foods, and salty snacks.

Results: In the sample of 13 486 children and adolescents, the frequency of junk food consumption was significantly associated with psychiatric distress (P < 0.001). There was a significant association between violent behaviors and intake of junk foods (P < 0.001) except for sweets, whereas the association between sweetened beverages consumption and being a victim was not significant (P > 0.05). Additionally, the results of logistic regression showed that daily consumption of sweetened beverages and snacks significantly increased the odds of self-reported psychiatric distress. Also, daily consumption of salty snacks was significantly associated with violent behavior, including physical fighting (odds ratio [OR], 1.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.21-1.60), being a victim (OR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.04-1.37), and bullying (OR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.32-1.82).

Conclusion: Junk food consumption may increase the risk for psychiatric distress and violent behaviors in children and adolescents. Improvement of eating habits toward healthier diets may be an effective approach for improving mental health.

Keywords: Junk food; Psychiatric distress; Violent behaviors.

Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  • Aggression*
  • Crime Victims
  • Dietary Sucrose / adverse effects
  • Fast Foods / adverse effects*
  • Feeding Behavior*
  • Food Preferences
  • Logistic Models
  • Mental Disorders / etiology*
  • Mental Health*
  • Nutritive Value
  • Sodium Chloride, Dietary / administration & dosage
  • Stress, Psychological / etiology*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Dietary Sucrose
  • Sodium Chloride, Dietary

Health Effects of Junk Food Intake Research Paper

Introduction, literature review.

The embracement of healthy living habits contributes greatly to the improvement of a person’s well-being. In particular, proper dietary habits and exercising have been identified some of the factors that improve the health status of an individual. However, the contemporary lifestyle exposes people to detrimental dietary habits that undermine their well-being. Notably, the consumption of junk food has become one of the major health issues that destabilize the health of individuals and groups in contemporary societies. In this respect, there is a need to establish strategic mechanisms that encourage people to overlook fast food, owing to their adverse health effects. In this concern, this paper identifies and discusses the various health effects associated with the consumption of junk food.

The junk food issue is a major one in contemporary settings. Notably, children, adolescents, and adults continue consuming more unhealthy foods today compared to the situation in the past. As such, the growing consumption rates predispose consumers to health threats that have a negative effect on their well-being. Various studies show that junk food meals lead to the emergence of health issues that undermine the functionality of the digestive and cardiovascular systems, the respiratory system, the central nervous system, the reproductive system, and the skeletal system (McCarthy, 2013). In this respect, there is a need for reviewing relevant literature that uncovers detrimental health outcomes related to the consumption of junk food.

Risk of Developing Type 2 Diabetes

The consumption of junk food is connected to increasing a person’s risk of acquiring Type 2 diabetes. Notably, poor dietary habits trigger an increase in diabetes cases in the world. In this concern, McCarthy (2013) projects that at least 10% of the world’s population will acquire diabetes by 2035. The health trend may be a direct long-term outcome of behavioral factors, especially unhealthy dietary practices. As such, as shown in Figure 1, different regions globally will record a 55% increase in the prevalence of diabetes, thereby undermining the overall wellness of various societies.

The Projected Regional Diabetes Prevalence by 2035.

In a study to investigate the extent to which junk food leads to the development of Type 2 diabetes, Lazarou, Panagiotakos, and Matalas (2012) provide reliable contributions regarding the public health issue. Particularly, the intake of fast food gradually triggers insulin resistance that eventually results in the development of Type 2 diabetes. Eating fast food reduces the ability of insulin to regulate blood sugar in the system. Important to note, fast foods such as potato chips have considerable levels of carbohydrate and individual fatty acids that undermine the performance of the insulin hormone.

In another inquiry, Naeem (2012) underlines that the consumption of fast foods such as pizza, chips, burgers, and fried chicken exposes Saudi Arabians to an array of health problems, including Type 2 diabetes mellitus. In addition to its contribution to the development of the health issue, junk foods undermine the health status of the Saudi Arabian population by heightening the risk of developing complications such as obesity, hypertension, heart attack, and cancer of the colon.

In this respect, Saudi Arabian health agencies have put in place measures that seek to cut cases of Type 2 diabetes. The recommended approaches to mitigating the emergence of Type 2 diabetes from the consumption of fast food meals in Saudi Arabia include the establishment of programs that seek to control children from consuming junk foods, conducting education initiatives on nutrition, and advocating for a habit of consuming healthy foods (Naeem, 2012). In this regard, owing to the increasing consumption of junk foods, Saudi Arabia is witnessing an upsurge of cases of people diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. As such, the interventions put in place by the government are expected to mitigate the witnessed adverse outcomes of eating unhealthy foods.

The Risk of Developing Obesity

In recent years, concerns have emerged over the increasing cases of severe obesity. The United States (U.S.) population acquires almost 29% of calories from the consumption of junk food (McCarthy, 2013). Health issues associated with the consumption of junk food range from exposing an individual to the risk of developing obesity to the acquisition of diabetes among other ailments.

In a bid to influence individuals to avoid the consumption of junk food, concerned parties, including public health agencies, engage in programs that seek to raise awareness regarding the risks associated with unhealthy eating. Nonetheless, amid having awareness about the health risks posed by junk food, 80% of the U.S. population frequents fast food joints at least once every month (McCarthy, 2013).

To understand the triggers of obesity, scholars have identified the consumption of junk food as one of the leading factors of the health issue. Popkin, Adair, and Ng (2012) assert that the consumption of junk foods emerged in the 1970s when people started increasingly opting for processed foods, sugar-sweetened beverages, and edible oils. Such dietary behaviors marked a shift from the conventional use of healthy foods and beverages to junk foods that exposed them to an array of health concerns, including obesity.

Apart from obesity, other health issues such as hypertension and diabetes started manifesting at a greater scale during the 1990s, thereby denoting the detrimental effects of using unhealthy foods (Popkin et al., 2012). Furthermore, Finkelstein et al. (2012) uncover that the problem of obesity and overweight affects individuals in various income levels and regions. Thus, low-income earners in regions such as South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as high-income earners in Europe and North America, among other regions, report heightening instances of obesity and overweight as an outcome of poor dietary habits.

Projections show that the prevalence of obesity is on the verge of increasing significantly, owing to poor dietary habits embraced by individuals in modern societies. Gunnars (2017) posits that the past 160 years have witnessed a skyrocketing rise of the total sugar intake, a situation that had led to increased cases of obesity globally, as shown in Figure 2. People in western countries mainly consume significant quantities of sugars averaging 500 calories on a daily basis. The calories come from the intake of junk foods that have exposed consumers to health risks such as obesity.

The Rising Total Sugar Consumption and Obesity Prevalence Over Time.

Studies that use the linear time trends predictions indicate that obesity will remain unabated in the next decade, owing to the prevalence of unhealthy eating habits (Finkelstein et al., 2012). Nonetheless, the authors predict that the occurrence of severe obesity will reach lower levels than the currently reported rates if people acquire healthy dietary habits. The integration of nonlinear regression models into a study reveals that the prevalence of moderate as well as severe obesity will reach rates of 42% and 11%, respectively, by 2030 (Finkelstein et al., 2012).

The study uncovered that amid linear models predicting that obesity will rise over the 50% rate by 2030, there is still hope that such cases will reduce because of effective and efficient public health interventions. Nonetheless, failing to put in place the required interventions has the possibility of seeing moderate and severe obesity reaching prevalence levels of 33% and 130% correspondingly (Finkelstein et al., 2012). In this regard, the junk food consumption trend has the potential of worsening the health position of the global population by 2030, given that the dietary habit is associated with the development of obesity.

In a study, Garcia, Sunil, and Hinojosa (2012) underscore that the regular consumption of fast food is one of the leading behavioral factors attributed to the prevalence of obesity in modern settings. The alarming issue is that severe obesity in on the rise compared to moderate obesity. As such, Garcia et al. (2012) note the need for advocating for the integration of public health measures that can facilitate the reduction of the rates of morbid, as well as super morbid obesity. Importantly, the authors identify the strategy of discouraging individuals from consuming junk food as one of the effective ways of combating the severe obesity menace.

Mental Health Risk

The consumption of junk food affects the effective and efficient functionality of the central nervous system. In the end, the use of fast food, as well as processed pastries, may result in the development of mental health issues. Various inquiries reveal that junk food consumption is linked to the development of depression. Notably, poor dietary practices such as the intake of commercially baked foods, sweetened beverages, and sweets raise consumer’s risk of encountering depression by 51% (Zahedi et al., 2014). As such, the emotional imbalance manifested by depression negatively affects the overall well-being of a person. Thus, depression is one of the long-term adverse effects of junk food consumption.

In a study, Zahedi et al. (2014) sought to investigate the degree to which the use of junk food increases the threat of developing mental health problems among Iranian children and adolescents. The study uncovers that the regular intake of fast food increases an individual’s chances of experiencing psychiatric distress in the end. Notably, psychiatric distress manifests in the different forms of violent behavior demonstrated by children and adolescents consuming foods such as fried chicken, chips, burgers, and sweetened beverages regularly (Zahedi et al., 2014).

Psychiatric distress portrayed by violent behavior among regular consumers of snacks and sweetened beverages also affects other aspects of a person’s well-being. Zahedi et al. (2014) uncover that violent behavior has the potential of undermining an individual’s cognitive and social development. Particularly, children and adolescents consuming junk foods to the frequency of a daily basis engage in violent conduct such as physical fights and bullying. They also demonstrate irregular levels of confidence.

In a similar undertaking, O’Neil et al. (2014) find a close association between the unceasing intake of junk food and depression among children and adolescents. The research reveals that proper dietary habits during the early stages of an individual’s lifespan considerably affect their mental health in the long term. As such, failing to embrace quality dietary practices from an early age heightens the chances of individuals experiencing mental problems, especially depression (Jacka, Rothon, Taylor, Berk, & Stansfeld, 2013).

Thus, mental or psychological issues arising from the use of unhealthy meals undermine the well-being of individuals, especially children and adolescents. As such, mental health imbalances that result from unhealthy dietary behaviors may inhibit the proper growth and development of children and adolescents.

Over the centuries, the world has witnessed a substantial rise in sugar consumption. In the recent past, most of the sugars the global population consumes emanates from junk foods that people take regularly. Adversely, high-calorie levels acquired from unhealthy diets result in a skyrocketing rise of diabetes and obesity prevalence in the entire regions of the globe. For this reason, projections presented in the literature review show that the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes is on the brink of realizing a 55% increase by 2035.

Shockingly, populations in developing countries in regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa reveal greater tendencies of reporting significant cases of Type 2 diabetes in the next decade. In this view, junk food menace cuts across geographical regions since demographic factors have been presented to expose individuals to health risks of consuming junk food.

Obesity is a public health concern that continues to undermine the well-being of the global population. The literature reviewed confirms that indeed poor eating habits play a part in increasing the prevalence of moderate obesity and extreme obesity globally. Given that obesity is linked to comorbid conditions such as Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension, it poses a great threat to public health. For this reason, the prevalence of obesity may remain unabated if the global population fails to abandon poor dietary ways.

The need for educating the public and raising awareness regarding the obesity issue is crucial towards improving the health of the overall global population. In this view, in addition to advocating the need for individuals to engage in physical activities, discouraging them from consuming unhealthy foods will go a long way in alleviating health issues associated with such dietary customs. Thus, effectively combating obesity will also reduce the chances of related health issues such as diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, and stroke, among other complications. These outcomes imply an improvement in the public health position in various regions.

The intake of junk foods, sweets, and sweetened beverages is identified as one of the factors that contribute to the rise of mental health issues globally. As noted in the literature review, the unceasing cravings for junk food leave individuals depressed as they seek to satisfy the urge to eat such meals.

In this respect, as companies continue to advertise various types of junk foods that they offer to consumers in the market, they may successfully pursue more individuals to consume such products, thus increasing their chances of experiencing depression. In this respect, various interested parties agitate for the establishment of measures that facilitate the regulation of junk food intake to improve the mental well-being of the global population.

The rising consumption of fast foods among children and adolescents is also regarded as one of the major triggers of psychiatric distress. As such, after consuming unhealthy meals, the occurrence of violent behaviors by young people increases, thus denoting the mental health issue triggered by junk food consumption. Consequently, depressed individuals undergo difficult processes of development, owing to their unbalanced mental well-being. The scenario implies that over 50% of the world’s population has the potential of experiencing poor psychosocial development if the regular intake of unhealthy foods continues.

Moreover, as noted in the literature review, the unceasing consumption of junk food in the contemporary settings exposes individuals to health issues such as diabetes, obesity, and depression. For this reason, there is the need for individuals to acquire positive behaviors that foster their well-being. One of the practical ways of improving the status of the society’s population is the embracement of quality dietary customs. As such, people need to consider eating more vegetables, fruits, grains, and healthy beverages, as opposed to commercially baked pastries, sweets, and sweetened beverages among other unhealthy foods.

Undoubtedly, individuals who consume junk foods on regular intervals subject themselves to an array of health risks that undermine their well-being. The notable health complications associated with poor dietary ways include diabetes, obesity, and depression. Shockingly, alarming instances of severe obesity raise concerns, owing to the contribution of the health issue to other conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

As such, there is the need for combating obesity as a way of mitigating the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes, a notable detrimental outcome of unhealthy eating. Moreover, adolescents engaging in the consumption of unhealthy meals have the potential of experiencing psychiatric distress denoted by violent behavior. Therefore, it is crucial to change the current dietary trends to adopt eating approaches that improve one’s well-being.

Finkelstein, E. A., Khavjou, O. A., Thompson, H., Trogdon, J. G., Pan, L., Sherry, B., & Dietz, W. (2012). Obesity and severe obesity forecasts through 2030. American Journal of Preventive Medicine , 42 (6), 563-570.

Garcia, G., Sunil, T. S., & Hinojosa, P. (2012). The fast food and obesity link: Consumption patterns and severity of obesity. Obesity Surgery , 22 (5), 810-818.

Gunnars, K. (2017). 11 graphs that show everything that is wrong with the modern diet . Web.

Jacka, F. N., Rothon, C., Taylor, S., Berk, M., & Stansfeld, S. A. (2013). Diet quality and mental health problems in adolescents from East London: A prospective study. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology , 48 (8), 1297-1306.

Lazarou, C., Panagiotakos, D., & Matalas, A. L. (2012). The role of diet in prevention and management of type 2 diabetes: Implications for public health. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition , 52 (5), 382-389.

McCarthy, R. (2013). The global diabetes epidemic in charts . Web.

Naeem, Z. (2012). Increasing trend of junk food use in Saudi Arabia and health implications. International Journal of Health Sciences , 6 (1), 5-5.

O’Neil, A., Quirk, S. E., Housden, S., Brennan, S. L., Williams, L. J., Pasco, J. A.,… Jacka, F. N. (2014). Relationship between diet and mental health in children and adolescents: A systematic review. American Journal of Public Health , 104 (10), 31-42.

Popkin, B. M., Adair, L. S., & Ng, S. W. (2012). Global nutrition transition and the pandemic of obesity in developing countries. Nutrition Reviews , 70 (1), 3-21.

Zahedi, H., Kelishadi, R., Heshmat, R., Motlagh, M. E., Ranjbar, S. H., Ardalan, G.,…Qorbani, M. (2014). Association between junk food consumption and mental health in a national sample of Iranian children and adolescents: The CASPIAN-IV study. Nutrition , 30 (11), 1391-1397.

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  • v.59(3); 2018 Sep

Fast food consumption and overweight/obesity prevalence in students and its association with general and abdominal obesity

A. mohammadbeigi.

1 Research Center of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran

A. ASGARIAN

2 Research Center for Air Pollutants, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom/Iran

3 Department of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran

S. AFRASHTEH

4 Department of Public Health, Vice chancellor of Health, MSc of Epidemiology, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran

5 Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

6 Health Promotion Research Center, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran

Nowadays, the prevalence of both fast food consumption and overweight/obesity has been increased. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of fast food consumption and to assess its association with abdominal and general obesity. In an analytical cross-sectional study, 300 students were selected randomly from two largest universities in Qom, center of Iran, studying in medical and basic sciences fields in 2015. Data collection was conducted by a modified version of NELSON’s fast food questionnaire and anthropometric measures including Waist-Hip Ratio (WHR) and Body Mass Index (BMI). Chi-square, independent t-test, and multivariate logistic regression were used for statistical analysis. According to our results, 72.4% (67.4% in females vs 80.7% in males) had at least one type of fast food consumption in the recent month including sandwich 44.4%, pizza 39.7%, and fried chicken 13.8%, The obesity prevalence based on BMI and WHR was 21.3% (95% CI: 19.4, 23.2%) and 33.2% (95% CI: 0.7, 35.7), respectively. Fast food consumption was related to abdominal obesity as WHR (OR: 1.46, 95% CI: 1.11, 2.26), but was not related to general obesity as BMI (OR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.63, 1.52). The prevalence of fast food consumption and obesity/overweight in Iranian student is high. Fast food consumption was associated with abdominal obesity based WHR, but did not related to general obesity based on BMI.

In adolescent students, 72.4% and 34% have used at least one type of fast foods in recent month and in recent week.

The obesity prevalence based on BMI and WHR was 21.3 % (18.2% in females vs 26.3% in males) and 33.2% (40.1% in females vs 21.9% in males), respectively.

Fast food consumption was associated with WHR, while was not related to BMI.

Sandwich consumption was associated with obesity/overweight based on BMI to 35%, fried chicken to 40%, and pizza more than 80%.

Introduction

The percentage of caloric intake from fast foods has increased fivefold over the past three decades among adolescents [ 1 , 2 ]. In addition, obesity prevalence increased dramatically worldwide as one of the most serious public health problem especially in childhood and adolescents in current century [ 3 ]. Fast food consumption has increasing’ trend due to convenience, costs, menu choices, flavor and taste [ 4 ]. About 30% of children to more than 50% in college students use fast food daily[ 2 , 5 ]. Moreover, more than 33% of adults and 17% of children and teenagers are obese in united states [ 6 ]. Increased food consumption and substantial changes in the food habits are the most important factors of obesity epidemic [ 7 ] besides the poor diet among young people at recent years [ 8 ].

Wide ranges of causes are associated with obesity and overweight that varied from genetic to environmental factors [ 3 , 7 ]. However, our surround environment is one of the key factors that effective in the rapid development of the obesity epidemic in the world [ 7 ]. Fast food consumption is strongly associated with weight gain and obesity. Fast food consumption could increase the risk of obesity and obesity-related diseases as a major public health issue [ 9 , 10 ]. Obesity and overweight are the most important factors of non-communicable diseases related to years of life lost in cardiovascular diseases [ 11 , 12 ].

Fast food is defined by a convenience food purchased in self-service or carry out eating venues without wait service [ 9 ]. Todays, the number of women in the workforce is increased due to changes in the family structure and urbanization in all countries over the past years. Moreover, the working of people for longer hours expands and the food and mealtimes have changed seriously. A rapid growth is observed in fast food industries and restaurants [ 13 ]. Consequently, some worse consequences such as overweight and obesity have increasing trend [ 9 ]. Previous research has identified a strong positive association between the availability of fast food and its consumption as well as fast food consumption and obesity outcomes [ 5 , 8 , 10 , 14 , 15 ]. However, some studies assessed the fast food consumption on the general obesity based on Body Mass Index (BMI) [ 5 , 8 , 10 , 16 ]. Nevertheless, the association between fast food consumption and obesity type (abdominal/general) is unclear [ 3 , 10 ]. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of fast food consumption and obesity/overweight in two different governmental and nongovernmental universities, and to assess the association of fast food consumption with abdominal/general obesity.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 300 students of two large Universities in Qom, center of Iran, that randomly selected and studying in medical and basic sciences fields at spring 2015. Sample size was calculated based on the fast food prevalence in recent studies with considering the power equal to 90% and first type error equal 5% as well as based on the minimal significant difference expected regarding fast food consumption between the two university and students who used and not used fast food. The study subjects were selected based on the multistage sampling method. In the first phase, according to the stratified random sampling method, 150 students selected from the Qom Medical University, and 150 students selected from a nongovernmental University (Qom branch of Islamic Azad University). Then in each stratum, simple random sampling was used for selecting some classes and recruitment of students. In the third phase, in each selected class, all the eligible students were called to participate in the study. After describing the objectives and the method of data gathering, the informed consent is taken from all the volunteer subjects. Moreover, the ethic committee of Qom University of Medical Sciences approve the study protocol.

Data collection was conducted by a modified version of standard NELSON’ fast food questionnaire [ 17 ]. The reliability and validity of this questionnaire is assessed by them and reported as a reliable measure with fair validity. Moreover, the content validity of modified version of questionnaire changed based on cultural and nutritional differences in Iranian people, was assessed by experts in epidemiology, nutrition and health education majors. Moreover, the reliability of questionnaire was assessed by Cronbakh Alpha and estimated as 0.861.

The main outcomes in our questionnaire were fast food consumption, type of fast food and the frequency of consumption. The variables that evaluated in fast food consumption were selected based on more frequent items that used in Iran based on cultural and religious condition such as different types of sandwich, fried chicken, fried potato, hotdog and pizza.

Obesity indexes data of such as waist and circumference for calculating Waist-Hip Ratio (WHR), height and weight for computing BMI were collected. Waist, hip circumference, and height of subjects were measured by anthropometric tape measure. Moreover, the weight of students was measured by a valid scale (SECA 830). BMI and WHR were calculated by standard formulae [ 18 , 19 ].

The WHR index was used for measuring the abdominal obesity and BMI for general obesity. Frequency, mean, and standard deviation were used for description of data. Chi-square test was used to assess the relationship between fast food consumption and quantitative demographic variables with obesity in studied subjects. Independent t-test were used for comparing the mean of age, BMI and WHR and their components in studied subjects between used and un-used fast food consumption. Finally, multivariate logistic regression was used to control the potential confounders including job, educational level, field of study and type of university. The statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS software (Chicago, IL, USA) and the type one error considered in 0.05 level.

Overall, 72.4% (67.4% in females vs 80.7% in males) have fast food consumption. These students used at least one type of the fast foods in the recent month. However, the most common type of fast food consumption was sandwich 44.4%, pizza 39.7%, fried chicken 13.8%, respectively. Figure 1 showed the distribution of different type of fast foods in recent month after survey.

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Object name is jpmh-2018-03-e236-g001.jpg

The prevalence of different the types of fast food consumption in studied students.

Table I shows the comparison of fast food consumption in students by chi square test between who were consumed fast food in recent month and who not consumed. This table showed that there was significant difference between subjects who used and did not use fast food in recent month regarding to the gender, marital status, education level, university, and major of study. The married and male students as well as who studied in basic sciences and nongovernmental university were used more fast food. Nevertheless, there was no significant relationship between job and residency place at night with fast food consumption.

Table II shows that there was a significant difference between studied subjects who used and not used fast food in past month regarding to waist and WHR (p < 0.05). Nevertheless, the difference in age, weight, height, hip, and BMI was not significant between two groups.

Comparing the mean of age, BMI and WHR and their components in studied subjects between used and un-used fast food consumption.

The overweight/obesity prevalence based on BMI classification (higher 25 kg/m 2 ) was 21.3% (95% CI: 19.4, 23.2%) calculated 18.2% (95% CI: 16.1, 20.3) in females vs 26.3% (95% CI: 22.7, 29.8) in males. Moreover, the obesity prevalence based on WHR was 33.2% (95% CI: 30.7, 35.7) calculated 40.1% (95% CI: 36.6, 43.5) in females vs 21.9% (95% CI: 18.8, 25.0) in males, respectively. Therefore, we considered a subject as obese if he/she had BMI more than 25 or WHR more than 0.9 in males and more than 0.8 in females. According to this definition, 37.2% (41.2% in females vs 30.7% in males) were affected to overweight and obesity. Therefore, the consumption of fast food was related to obesity. Moreover, a significant relationship was observed between obesity and consumption of sandwich (OR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.4, 2.41), fried chicken (OR: 1.4, 95% CI: 1.22,1.73), and pizza (OR: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.1, 2.9). In addition, the fast food consumption was related to WHR as abdominal obesity (OR: 1.46, 95 CI: 1.11, 2.26), but was not related to BMI as general obesity (OR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.63, 1.52) ( Tab. III ). Based on multivariate regression model ( Tab. IV ) only marital status, type of university and gender were the most related factors of fast food consumption. Therefore, studying in nongovernmental university (OR: 3.16, 95% CI: 1.8, 5.6), single status (OR: 3.08, 95% CI: 1.26, 5.01) and being females (OR: 2.96, 95% CI: 1.61,4.53) are the most important related factors of fast food consumption, respectively in Qom, Iran.

The relationship between fast food consumption and obesity in studied subjects.

Multivariate analysis of predictive factors of fast food consumption in under studied subjects.

The adjusted variables in this model were job, educational level, field of study and type of university.

According to our results, 72.4% and 34% have used at least one type of the fast foods in recent month and recent week, respectively. It seems that the consumption of fast food in Qom students is high due to lack of recreational facilities and entertainment in this religious city. However, the fast food consumption in our study was lower than other studies [ 4 , 20 ]. Results of studies in students of King Faisal University reported that more than 90% of people used fast foods monthly that was higher our estimate. In addition, a same study in female students aged 18 to 25 years showed that 47.1% had fast food consumption for two or more time per week [ 5 ].

The obesity prevalence in our study was estimated 21.3% and 33.2%, based on BMI and WHR, respectively. In a previous study, the obesity/overweight prevalence was 29.7% 5 and nearly half of them used fast foods. Moreover, in Shah et al. study, more than 34% of Chinese medical students were pre-obese and obese [ 4 ].

According to our results WHR was significantly different between subjects who used and not used fast food while, the difference in BMI was not significant. Therefore, fast food consumption was related to WHR, but did not related to BMI. In addition, consumption of sandwich, fried chicken and pizza were associated with obesity/overweight based BMI. Same direct association were demonstrated the association between fast food consumption and overweight/obesity in different studies [ 10 , 14 , 15 , 21 , 22 ]. Fast foods are poor in micronutrients, low in fiber, high energy density, high in glycemic load9 and large portion size with sugar [ 4 ] and could be more energetic than the daily energy requirements [ 6 , 9 ]. In addition, the average energy density of an entire menu in fast food restaurant is approximately more than twice the energy density of a healthy menu [ 22 ]. According to some studies [ 3 , 22 , 23 ] obesity is the core of some important non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, hypercholesterolemia, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes [ 12 , 22 , 23 ]. Increase in energy density of diet by fat or sugar, together with concomitant eating behaviors like snacking, binge eating and eating out; promote unhealthy weight gain through passive overconsumption of energy [ 4 , 6 ].

Fast food consumption is positively related to overweight and obesity due to extremely high energy density of these foods [ 6 , 22 ]. Moreover, a study a significant association was observed between BMI and fast food consumption [ 4 ]. Two commonly eaten fast foods including fried foods and hotdogs have been associated with risk of obesity and weight gain [ 22 ]. Moreover, fast food consumption was related to general obesity in female adolescents. Moreover, obesity/overweight was significantly associated with frequency of fast food consumption [ 5 ].

This study found the prevalence of obesity was higher in females, while the prevalence of fast food consumption was higher in males. However, male students who are married are more interesting to eating fast food and it might be due to the religious culture of Qom as the most religious city of Iran. In the other hand, the single female students are not free to go in fast food restaurants than married ones. Moreover, three variables including marital status, type of university and gender are the most associated factors of fast food consumption. Based on our results in multivariate model, both studying in nongovernmental University and being single increase the odds of fast food consumption more than three fold. Moreover, female students used fast food 2.9 folds more than male students. The main reasons of students for fast food consumption are taste and comfort to access to these foods and lack of cooking skills [ 5 ]. The higher fast foods consumption in females and single students might related to lower wasting time in android social networks than male students [ 25 , 26 ]. Moreover, since in nongovernmental university the price of kitchen food is high, the students are more interesting to have eating in fast food restaurants. However, the fast food prevalence is high in students and teenagers probably due to low cost [ 4 , 16 ]. Nevertheless, because comfort accesses to fast food the corresponding expenditures are rising among people [ 15 ]. Moreover, the price of health outcomes of consequences of fast food consumption are more expensive and need to more investigations [ 9 , 15 ].

We could not measure the morphometric characters and adipocity measures of students as other body compositions indexes. Moreover, lack of cooperation of students for anthropometric measurements was another limitation of the current study.

Conclusions

The prevalence of fast food consumption and obesity/overweight in Iranian student is high. Studying in nongovernmental University, being single and females were associated with fast food consumption to three fold. Fast food consumption could have associated to abdominal obesity based WHR to 46%, but was not related to general obesity based on BMI. However, this study showed the different effect of fast foods on abdominal and general obesity as a hypothesis. Future studies need to determine the pure effect of fast food consumption on different dimensions of obesity.

The relationship between demographic variables and fast food consumption.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the research Vice-Chancellor of Qom University of Medical Sciences for financial supporting of this work. They are also grateful students who participated in this study.

Funding source: Qom University of Medical Sciences.

Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Authors' contributions

AM: contributions to the conception, design of the work; analysis, and interpretation of data and Final approval of article.AA: contributions the acquisition and analysis of data for the work and Drafting the article. EM: contributions to the conception or design of the work; interpretation of data for the work; and Final approval of the article. SA: contributions to the conception or design of the work; interpretation of data for the work; and Final approval of the article. SK: contributions to the conception or design of the work analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; and Final approval of the article.HA: contributions to the conception, design of the work; analysis, and interpretation of data and Final approval of article.

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COMMENTS

  1. The Impacts of Junk Food on Health · Frontiers for Young Minds

    Abstract Energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods, otherwise known as junk foods, have never been more accessible and available. Young people are bombarded with unhealthy junk-food choices daily, and this can lead to life-long dietary habits that are difficult to undo.

  2. (PDF) JUNK FOOD: IMPACT ON HEALTH

    Junk refer to fast food which are easy to make and easy to consume. Michael Jacobson aptly coins the phrase junk food in 1972 as slang for foods of useless or low nutritional value. Junk...

  3. (PDF) The Impacts of Junk Food on Health

    Energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods, otherwise known as junk foods, have never been more accessible and available. Young people are bombarded with unhealthy junk-food choices daily, and this...

  4. Junk food-induced obesity- a growing threat to youngsters during the

    Studies have proven that Junk food tends to cause obesity (central adiposity), a primary concern of heart diseases and other non-communicable diseases ( Rouhani et al., 2012; Musaiger, 2014 ).

  5. Junk Food in Schools and Childhood Obesity

    In this paper, we estimate the effects of junk food availability on BMI, obesity, and related outcomes among a national sample of fifth-graders.

  6. Junk Food Intake Among Adults in the United States

    Introduction Large disparities have been documented in nutrition-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension across racial/ethnic and socioeconomic groups in the United States ( 1-3 ).

  7. Trends in junk food consumption among US children and adults, 2001-2018

    Trends in mean percent energy from total junk food among US children (aged 2-19 y) and adults (aged 20+ y) from 2001 to 2018 by race/ethnicity ( n = 24,661 for children and n = 36,786) and education ( n = 28,857 for children and n = 44,454). Data were adjusted for NHANES survey weights to be nationally representative.

  8. Trends in junk food consumption among US children and adults ...

    PMID: 34020459 PMCID: PMC8408879 DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/nqab129 Trends in junk food consumption, a risk for obesity, are not well established. Objectives: We examined national trends in types of junk food (excluding beverages) and their sources (grocery, restaurants, schools, etc.), overall and in population subgroups.

  9. Junk food consumption and psychological distress in children and

    Background: Available evidence indicates that junk foods, defined as unhealthy foods with high-calorie and low-nutrient value, negatively affect mental and metabolic health of children. This study aimed to conduct a meta-analysis to clarify the association between junk food consumption and psychological distress in children and adolescents.

  10. The Impact of Junk Food on Our Lives: A Study on Adolescent

    According to studies, junk food contains a significant amount of saturated fat, in addition to a large number of calories and salt, all of which may contribute to the development of health...

  11. Association between university student junk food consumption and mental

    Research article First published online January 23, 2023 Association between university student junk food consumption and mental health and OnlineFirst https://doi.org/10.1177/02601060231151480 Get access Abstract Background: On a global scale, the mental health consequences of eating habits among the general population are becoming a concern.

  12. Junk Food Availability in Schools Raises Obesity

    For those with an overweight parent, who may have a genetic susceptibility to weight gain, a 10 percent increase in the proportion of schools that make junk food available increases BMI by more than 2 percent. Though junk food at school may pose a health risk to some students susceptible to obesity, existing junk food policies help generate ...

  13. Healthy food choices are happy food choices: Evidence from a ...

    Research suggests that "healthy" food choices such as eating fruits and vegetables have not only physical but also mental health benefits and might be a long-term investment in future well-being.

  14. Determinants of Junk Food Consumption Among Adolescents in ...

    Background: Junk food consumption and its consequences has become a major public health concern globally because of its deteriorating health consequences and surging prevalence. Though its adverse health consequences are widely prevalent in all age groups, children and adolescents are more at risk.

  15. The Association of Junk Food Consumption with Preadolescents ...

    The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of environmental influences on Greek preadolescents' junk food consumption. A cross-sectional study, was conducted among 1718 preadolescents (mean (standard deviation(SD)) age: 11.2(0.8) years old; 54% girls) and their parents, during the school years 2014-2016. Parental and child characteristics were collected anonymously, through ...

  16. The Hidden Dangers of Fast and Processed Food

    Many people recognize that junk food, fast food, processed food, white flour, sugar, maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, and all the junk people are eating contribute to in obesity, diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, dementia and cancer, but many don't realize the strong causative role an unhealthy diet may have in mental illness.

  17. A Study on Junk Food Consumption Behavior Among College Students

    The study of junk food consumption behaviour among college students is aimed to have an in depth analysis of food consumption trends and attitudes among college students. The research takes up an exploratory approach and used primary data from sample survey conducted on a quota sample to arrive to conclusions.

  18. Association between junk food consumption and mental health in a

    The junk foods consisted of sweets, sweetened beverages, fast foods, and salty snacks. Results: In the sample of 13 486 children and adolescents, the frequency of junk food consumption was significantly associated with psychiatric distress (P < 0.001). There was a significant association between violent behaviors and intake of junk foods (P < 0 ...

  19. Health Effects of Junk Food Intake Research Paper

    Various studies show that junk food meals lead to the emergence of health issues that undermine the functionality of the digestive and cardiovascular systems, the respiratory system, the central nervous system, the reproductive system, and the skeletal system (McCarthy, 2013).

  20. Determinants of Junk Food Consumption Among Adolescents in Pokhara

    Results: The study found that more than half of the participants (60.30%) consumed junk foods over the last 30 days, more prevalent among public school participants (65.1%) followed by participants of private school (56.3%). More than half of the participants consumed salty snacks (58.7%) followed by sweets (57.5%).

  21. Fast Food Consumption and its Impact on Health

    With changes in lifestyle, there is increase in the consumption of junk food among school going children 48 . Percentage of children and adolescents aged 2-19 years who consumed fast food on...

  22. Junk Food Research Papaer

    Order custom essay Junk Food Research Papaer with free plagiarism report 450+ experts on 30 subjects Starting from 3 hours delivery Get Essay Help One of the main reasons that some men have erectile dysfunction is because the thin lining that the blood vessels and could be an early sign of something more to come.

  23. Fast food consumption and overweight/obesity prevalence in students and

    According to our results, 72.4% (67.4% in females vs 80.7% in males) had at least one type of fast food consumption in the recent month including sandwich 44.4%, pizza 39.7%, and fried chicken 13.8%, The obesity prevalence based on BMI and WHR was 21.3% (95% CI: 19.4, 23.2%) and 33.2% (95% CI: 0.7, 35.7), respectively.