You might like the yummy pani puri from the bhaiyya but have you ever thought which water he uses? With what hands he prepares the dishes? Food consumed from roadside vendor is not only junk food but also unhygienic and dangerous. On the other hand, you might think burger from Mac and delicious chicken from KFC is safe and healthy, but they are not. Is junk food healthy?

Any food that has poor nutritional value is considered unhealthy and may be called junk food. Junk food is easy to carry, purchase and can be consumed anytime and anywhere. Generally, junk food is given a very attractive appearance by adding food additives and colors to improve flavor, texture, appearance, and increasing long shelf life. What makes ‘food’ junk is, when some ingredients used in them  consumed regularly can be harmful and unhealthy.

Example: eating pizza which is loaded with lots of cheese which is so fatty is unhealthy, eating ice cream is good source of calcium but at the same time it has sugar and fats.  For children it’s a best option to avoid healthy food, the attraction towards it is increasing day by day instead of reducing.

Disadvantages of Junk Food

The taste draws them to try new things but readymade foods should not be the ideal diet for growing children. For an overall growth of a child, nutrition as well as adequate supply of proteins is necessary and in the absence of these basic ingredients the overall growth of the child can be hampered. The ages 6-12 are a time of steady growth; good nutrition is a high priority. Children must know that what they eat affects how they grow.

• Gives No Energy: Junk food doesn’t give you adequate energy as it doesn’t contain any nutrients that are beneficial to the human body and is not easy to digest. Some foods are filled with harmful colors, carbohydrates, fats and cholesterol that do not provide much useful energy.
• Obesity Risk: Junk food is a major cause for childhood obesity which can be observed today. If children don’t get junk food they fall prey to mood swings, this in turn is harmful for their physical and mental health.
• Various Diseases: Osteoporosis and Hypertension are other diseases that appear to have their earliest roots in childhood when lifelong eating habits are being formed. Poor diets can slow growth, cause decay in new straight teeth and sow the seeds of ill-health and devastating diseases that make life insufferable.

“Mom I don’t want to eat pooha give me a grilled cheese toast instead”, this sentence is so common to all the moms. Junk food is making children so crazy about them that they want to have it all the time.Now a days when a child comes home after school he doesn’t need dosa and upma, he instead needs wafers or a packet of Kurkure or Chitoos which he can munch while enjoying the idiot box. it is advisable for parents to not give junk food like samosas, vada pav , burger, coke etc. when children come home from school. Giving children these foods once in while is fine but if they consume them on regular bases they will be the cause of various health issues.

Dr Saggar, Periodontist says he is shocked to learn that a number of mothers give aerated drinks like Coke and Pepsi to children in their feeding bottles. Lack of proper nutrition, he says, shows up in the poor health and the dental problems faced by such children.

Popularity Partners

• Television: ‘Television advertisements (ads)’ aired during the breaks are biggest culprits. A child who watches it has a good choice to make because television offers them ads showing new items to try like Mc chicken nuggets, more cheesy pizzas by Pizza hut and Dominos and if these is less than you have ads showing new pasta which can be cooked as fast as Maggi noodles and also new crispy Bingo Mad Angles or new flavored biscuits and tempting chocolates.

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