"Junk food" is a term used to describe food that is high in calories from macronutrients such as sugar and fat, and often also high in sodium, making it hyperpalatable, and low in dietary fiber, protein, or micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals. [1] [2] [3] It is also known as "high in fat, salt and sugar food" (HFSS food). [4] The term junk food is a pejorative dating back to the 1950s. [5]
Precise definitions vary by purpose and over time. Some high-protein foods, like meat prepared with saturated fat, may be considered junk food. [6] Fast food and fast-food restaurants are often equated with junk food, although fast foods cannot be categorically described as junk food. [7] [8] [9] Candy, soft drinks, and highly-processed foods such as certain breakfast cereals, are generally included in the junk food category; [7] [3] much of it is ultra-processed food. [10]
Concerns about the negative health effects resulting from a junk food-heavy diet, especially obesity, have resulted in public health awareness campaigns, and restrictions on advertising and sale in several countries. [11] [12] [13] Current studies indicate that a diet high in junk food can increase the risk of depression, digestive issues, heart disease and stroke, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and early death. [14]
The term junk food dates back at least to the early 1950s, although its coinage has been credited to Michael F. Jacobson of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, in 1972. [2] In 1952, the phrase appeared in a headline in the Lima, Ohio, News, "'Junk Foods' Cause Serious Malnutrition", over a reprint of a 1948 article from the Ogden, Utah, Standard-Examiner, originally titled, "Dr. Brady's Health Column: More Junk Than Food". In the article, Dr. Brady writes, "What Mrs. H calls 'junk' I call cheat food. That is anything made principally of (1) white flour and or (2) refined white sugar or syrup. For example, white bread, crackers, cake, candy, ice cream soda, chocolate malted, sundaes, sweetened carbonated beverages." [15] The term cheat food can be traced back in newspaper mentions to at least 1916. [16]
In Andrew F. Smith's Encyclopedia of Junk Food and Fast Food, junk food is defined as "those commercial products, including candy, bakery goods, ice cream, salty snacks and soft drinks, which have little or no nutritional value but do have plenty of calories, salt, and fats. While not all fast foods are junk foods, many of them are. Fast foods are ready-to-eat foods served promptly after ordering. Some fast foods are high in calories and low in nutritional value, while other fast foods, such as salads, may be low in calories and high in nutritional value." [7]
Junk food provides empty calories, supplying little or none of the protein, vitamins, or minerals required for a nutritious diet. [17] Some foods, such as hamburgers, and tacos, can be considered either healthy or junk food, depending on their ingredients and preparation methods. The more highly processed items usually fall under the junk food category, [18] including breakfast cereals that are mostly sugar or high fructose corn syrup and white flour or milled corn. [3]
Junk food can be defined through nutrient profiling. The United Kingdom's Advertising Standards Authority, the self-regulatory agency for the UK ad industry, takes this approach. Foods are scored for "A" nutrients (energy, saturated fat, total sugar, and sodium) and "C" nutrients (fruit, vegetable, and nut content, fiber, and protein). The difference between A and C scores determines whether a food or beverage is categorized as HFSS (high in fat, salt and sugar; a term synonymous with junk food). [4] [19] Defining junk food as highly processed or ultra-processed food mainly considers the level of processing rather than nutrient profiles. [20]
In Panic Nation: Unpicking the Myths We're Told About Food and Health , the junk food label is described as nutritionally meaningless: food is food, and if there is zero nutritional value, then it is not a food. [21] Co-editor Vincent Marks explains, "To label a food as 'junk' is just another way of saying, 'I disapprove of it.' There are bad diets – that is, bad mixtures and quantities of food – but there are no 'bad foods' except those that have become bad through contamination or deterioration." [22]
According to an article in the New York Times, "Let Us Now Praise the Great Men of Junk Food", "The history of junk food is a largely American tale: It has been around for hundreds of years, in many parts of the world, but no one has done a better job inventing so many varieties of it, branding it, mass-producing it, making people rich off it and, of course, eating it." [23] Cracker Jack, the candy-coated popcorn-and-peanuts confection, is credited as the first popular name-brand junk food; it was created in Chicago, registered in 1896, and became the best-selling candy in the world 20 years later. [24] [25]
Junk food in its various forms is trendy and an integral part of modern popular culture. In the US, annual fast-food sales are in the area of $160 billion, [26] compared to supermarket sales of $620 billion [27] (a figure which also includes junk food in the form of convenience foods, snack foods, and candy). In 1976, "Junk Food Junkie", a US top 10 pop song, described a junk food addict who pretends to follow a healthy diet by day, while at night gorges on Hostess Twinkies and Fritos corn chips, McDonald's and KFC. [28] Thirty-six years later, Time placed the Twinkie at #1 in an article titled, "Top 10 Iconic Junk Foods": "Not only...a mainstay on our supermarket shelves and in our bellies, they've been a staple in our popular culture and, above all, in our hearts. Often criticized for its lack of any nutritional value whatsoever, the Twinkie has managed to persevere as a cultural and gastronomical icon." [29]
America also celebrates an annual National Junk Food Day on July 21. Origins are unclear; it is one of around 175 US food and drink days, most created by "people who want to sell more food", at times aided by elected officials at the request of a trade association or commodity group. [30] "In honor of the day," Time in 2014 published, "5 Crazy Junk Food Combinations". Headlines from other national and local media coverage include: "Celebrate National Junk Food Day With... Beer-Flavored Oreos?" (MTV); [31] "National Junk Food Day: Pick your favorite unhealthy treats in this poll" (Baltimore); [32] "Celebrities' favorite junk food" (Los Angeles); [33] "A Nutritionist's Guide to National Junk Food Day" with "Rules for Splurging" ( Huffington Post ); [34] and "It's National Junk Food Day: Got snacks?" (Kansas City). [35]
As for the source of junk food's appeal, there is no definitive scientific answer; both physiological and psychological factors are cited. Food manufacturers spend billions of dollars on research and development to create flavor profiles that trigger the human affinity for sugar, salt, and fat. Consumption results in pleasurable, likely addictive, effects on the brain. At the same time, massive marketing efforts are deployed, creating powerful brand loyalties that studies have shown can trump taste. [36]
It is well-established that the poor eat more junk food overall than the more affluent, but the reasons for this are unclear. [37] Few studies have focused on variations in food perception according to socio-economic status (SES); some studies that have differentiated based on SES suggest that the economically challenged do not perceive healthy food much differently than any other population segment. [38] Recent research into scarcity, combining behavioral science and economics, suggests that, faced with extreme economic uncertainty, where even the next meal may not be a sure thing, judgment is impaired and the drive is to the instant gratification of junk food, rather than to make the necessary investment in the longer-term benefits of a healthier diet. [39] [40]
When junk food is consumed very often, the excess fat, simple carbohydrates, and processed sugar found in junk food contribute to an increased risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and many other chronic health conditions. [41] A case study on the consumption of fast foods in Ghana suggested a direct correlation between consumption of junk food and obesity rates. The report asserts that obesity resulted in related complex health concerns such as an upsurge in the rate of heart attacks. [42] Studies reveal that as early as the age of 30, arteries could begin clogging and lay the groundwork for future heart attacks. [43] Consumers also tend to eat too much in one sitting, [44] and those who have satisfied their appetite with junk food are less likely to eat healthy foods like fruit or vegetables. [3]
Testing on rats has indicated negative effects of junk food that may manifest likewise in people. A Scripps Research Institute study in 2008 suggested that junk food consumption alters brain activity in a manner similar to addictive drugs like cocaine and heroin. After many weeks with unlimited access to junk food, the pleasure centers of rat brains became desensitized, requiring more food for pleasure; after the junk food was taken away and replaced with a healthy diet, the rats starved for two weeks instead of eating nutritious fare. [45] [46] A 2007 study in the British Journal of Nutrition found that female rats who eat junk food during pregnancy increased the likelihood of unhealthy eating habits in their offspring. [47]
Other research has been done on the impact of sugary foods on human emotional health and has suggested that consuming junk food can negatively impact energy levels and emotional well-being. [48]
In a study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition , the frequency of consumption of 57 foods/drinks of 4,000 children at the age of four and a half were collected by maternal report. At age seven, the 4,000 children were given the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), with five scales: hyperactivity, conduct problems, peer problems, emotional symptoms, and pro-social behavior. A one standard deviation increase in junk food was then linked to excessive hyperactivity in 33% of the subjects, leading to the conclusion that children consuming excess junk food at the age of seven are more likely to be in the top third of the hyperactivity scale. There was no significant correlation between junk food and the other scales. [49]
Several countries have taken, or are considering, various forms of legislative action to curb junk food consumption. Eating habits can be influenced by the food environment around us. [50] In 2014, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Anand Grover, released his report, "Unhealthy foods, non-communicable diseases and the right to health", and called for governments to "take measures, such as developing food and nutrition guidelines for healthy diets, regulating marketing and advertising of junk food, adopting consumer-friendly labeling of food products, and establishing accountability mechanisms for violations of the right to health." [51]
An early, high-profile, and controversial attempt to identify and curb junk food in the American diet was undertaken by the McGovern Committee (United States Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, chaired by Senator George McGovern) between 1968 and 1977. Initially formed to investigate malnutrition and hunger in the US, the committee's scope progressively expanded to include environmental conditions that affected eating habits, such as urban decay, [52] then focused on the diet and nutritional habits of the American public. The committee took issue with the use of salt, sugar, and fat in processed foods, noted problems with overeating and the high percentage of ads for junk food on TV, and stated that bad eating habits could be as deadly as smoking. The findings were heavily criticized and rebutted from many directions, including the food industry, the American Medical Association, and the committee itself. In 1977, the committee issued public guidelines under the title, Dietary Goals for the United States , which became the predecessor to Dietary Guidelines for Americans , published every five years beginning in 1980 by the US Department of Health and Human Services. [53] [54]
In 2016, Chile became the first country to implement comprehensive nutritional quality measures aimed at consumers, with the Law of Food Labeling and Advertising. The statute mandated front-of-package warning labels, restricted marketing to children, and banned in-school sales of food and drink containing excessive sugar, salt, or saturated fat. [55]
To reduce junk food consumption through price control, sin taxes have been implemented. Targeting saturated fat consumption, Denmark introduced the world's first fat-food tax in October 2011 by imposing a surcharge on all foods, including those made from natural ingredients, that contain more than 2.3 percent saturated fat, an unpopular measure that lasted a little over a year. [56] [57] [58] Hungary has imposed taxes on foods and beverages high in added sugar, fat, and salt. [59] Norway taxes refined sugar, and Mexico has various excises on unhealthy food. [60] On April 1, 2015, the first fat tax in the US, the Navajo Nation's Healthy Diné Nation Act of 2014, mandating a 2% junk food tax, came into effect, covering the 27,000 sq mi (70,000 km2) Navajo reservation; the Act targeted problems with obesity and diabetes among the Navajo population. [61]
In mid-2021, the government of the United Kingdom proposed policies that would call for a ban on online advertisements of foods high in fat, salt, and sugar, in addition to an additional ban on advertising such foods on television before 9:00 pm local time. The bans would not affect advertisements that do not directly promote a junk food product, and promoting these products on company webpages and social media accounts would remain permitted. The bans were intended to come into force in 2023, but they will become effective from 1 October, 2025. [62]
In October 2021, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs of Spain, under the leadership of minister Alberto Garzón, announced a ban on the advertising of several categories of junk food to children under 16. Such advertising would be forbidden on television, radio, online, in movie theaters, and in newspapers. Affected foods include candy, energy bars, cookies, cake, juice, energy drinks, and ice cream. The ban is to take effect in 2022. [63]
Junk food that is targeted at children is a contentious issue. In "The Impact of Advertising on Childhood obesity", the American Psychological Association reports: "Research has found strong associations between increases in advertising for non-nutritious foods and rates of childhood obesity." [64] Advertising of unhealthy foods to children increases their consumption of the product [65] and positive attitudes (liking or wanting to buy) about the advertised product. [66] Children's critical reasoning (the ability to understand what an advertisement is and the aim of advertising to buy the product) is not protective against the impact of advertising, and does not appear to be fully developed during adolescence. [66]
The World Health Organization recommends that governments take action to limit children's exposure to food marketing, stating, "Many advertisements promote foods high in fats, sugar, and salt, consumption of which should be limited as part of a healthy diet. ... Food advertising and other forms of marketing have been shown to influence children's food preferences, purchasing behaviour and overall dietary behaviour. Marketing has also been associated with an increased risk of overweight and obesity in children. The habits children develop early in life may encourage them to adopt unhealthy dietary practices which persist into adulthood, increasing the likelihood of overweight, obesity and associated health problems such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases." [11]
In the United Kingdom, efforts to increasingly limit or eliminate advertising of foods high in sugar, salt, or fat at any time children may be viewing are ongoing. [67] The UK government has been criticized for failing to do enough to stop advertising and promotion of junk food aimed at children. [68] A UK parliamentary select committee recommended that cartoon characters advertising unhealthy food to children should be banned, supermarkets should have to remove unhealthy sweets and snacks from ends of aisles and checkout areas, local authorities should be able to limit the number of fast food outlets in their area, brands associated with unhealthy foods should be banned from sponsoring sports clubs, youth leagues and tournaments, and social media like Facebook should cut down junk food advertising to children –all are currently just recommendations. [69]
In Australia, a Wollongong University study in 2015 found that junk food sponsors were mentioned over 1,000 times in a single Australian cricket match broadcast, which included ads and branding worn on players' uniforms and on the scoreboard and pitch. A coalition of Australian obesity, cancer, and diabetes organizations called on Cricket Australia, the sport's governing body, to "phase out sponsorships with unhealthy brands", emphasizing that cricket is a "healthy, family-oriented sport" with children in the audience. [70]
Several states in Mexico banned sales of junk food to minors, starting in August 2020. [71]
Dieting is the practice of eating food in a regulated way to decrease, maintain, or increase body weight, or to prevent and treat diseases such as diabetes and obesity. As weight loss depends on calorie intake, different kinds of calorie-reduced diets, such as those emphasising particular macronutrients, have been shown to be no more effective than one another. As weight regain is common, diet success is best predicted by long-term adherence. Regardless, the outcome of a diet can vary widely depending on the individual.
A fad diet is a diet that is popular, generally only for a short time, similar to fads in fashion, without being a standard scientific dietary recommendation, and often making unreasonable claims for fast weight loss or health improvements; as such it is often considered a type of pseudoscientific diet. Fad diets are usually not supported by clinical research and their health recommendations are not peer-reviewed, thus they often make unsubstantiated statements about health and disease.
A healthy diet is a diet that maintains or improves overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, macronutrients such as protein, micronutrients such as vitamins, and adequate fibre and food energy.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is a Washington, D.C.–based non-profit watchdog and consumer advocacy group that advocates for safer and healthier foods.
In human nutrition, empty calories are those calories found in foods and beverages composed primarily or solely of calorie-rich macronutrients such as sugars and fats, but little or no micronutrients, fibre, or protein. Foods composed mostly of empty calories have low nutrient density, meaning few other nutrients relative to their energy content. Empty calories are more difficult to fit into a diet that is both balanced and within TDEE, and so readily create an unhealthy diet.
Michael F. Jacobson is an American scientist and nutrition advocate. He holds a Ph.D. in microbiology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
A fat tax is a tax or surcharge that is placed upon fattening food, beverages or on overweight individuals. It is considered an example of Pigovian taxation. A fat tax aims to discourage unhealthy diets and offset the economic costs of obesity.
Fast food advertising promotes fast food products and utilizes numerous aspects to reach out to the public.
The Western pattern diet is a modern dietary pattern that is generally characterized by high intakes of pre-packaged foods, refined grains, red meat, processed meat, high-sugar drinks, candy and sweets, fried foods, industrially produced animal products, butter and other high-fat dairy products, eggs, potatoes, corn, and low intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, pasture-raised animal products, fish, nuts, and seeds.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) provide nutritional advice for Americans who are healthy or who are at risk for chronic disease but do not currently have chronic disease. The Guidelines are published every five years by the US Department of Agriculture, together with the US Department of Health and Human Services. Notably, the most recent ninth edition for 2020–25 includes dietary guidelines for children from birth to 23 months. In addition to the Dietary Guidelines per se, there are additional tools for assessing diet and nutrition, including the Healthy Eating Index (HEI), which can be used to assess the quality of a given selection of foods in the context of the Dietary Guidelines. Also provided are additional explanations regarding customization of the Guidelines to individual eating preferences, application of the Guidelines during pregnancy and infancy, the USDA Nutrition Evidence Systematic Review, information about the Nutrition Communicators Network and the MyPlate initiative, information from the National Academies about redesigning the process by which the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are created, and information about dietary guidelines from other nations.
Nutrition transition is the shift in dietary consumption and energy expenditure that coincides with economic, demographic, and epidemiological changes. Specifically the term is used for the transition of developing countries from traditional diets high in cereal and fiber to more Western-pattern diets high in sugars, fat, and animal-source food.
Obesity in Mexico is a relatively recent phenomenon, having been widespread since the 1980s with the introduction of ultra-processed food into much of the Mexican food market. Prior to that, dietary issues were limited to under and malnutrition, which is still a problem in various parts of the country. Following trends already ongoing in other parts of the world, Mexicans have been foregoing the traditional Mexican diet high in whole grains, fruits, legumes and vegetables in favor of a diet with more animal products and ultra-processed foods. It has seen dietary energy intake and rates of overweight and obese people rise with seven out of ten at least overweight and a third clinically obese.
Diet plays an important role in the genesis of obesity. Personal choices, food advertising, social customs and cultural influences, as well as food availability and pricing all play a role in determining what and how much an individual eats.
Obesity in Greece is a growing health concern with health officials stating that it is one of the leading causes of preventable deaths in Greece.
Obesity in the Middle East and North Africa is a notable health issue. Out of the 15 fattest nations in the world as of 2014, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), five were located in the Middle East and North Africa region.
Criticism of fast food includes claims of negative health effects, animal cruelty, cases of worker exploitation, children-targeted marketing and claims of cultural degradation via shifts in people's eating patterns away from traditional foods. Fast food chains have come under fire from consumer groups, such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a longtime fast food critic over issues such as caloric content, trans fats and portion sizes. Social scientists have highlighted how the prominence of fast food narratives in popular urban legends suggests that modern consumers have an ambivalent relationship with fast food, particularly in relation to children.
Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) are beverages with added sugar. They have been described as "liquid candy". Added sugars include brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, honey, invert sugar, lactose, malt syrup, maltose, molasses, raw sugar, sucrose, trehalose, and turbinado sugar. Naturally occurring sugars, such as those in fruit or milk, are not considered to be added sugars. Free sugars include monosaccharides and disaccharides added to foods and beverages by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, and sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates.
Barry Michael Popkin is an American nutrition and obesity researcher at the Carolina Population Center and the W.R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor of Nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health, where he is the director of the Global Food Research Program. He developed the concept of "nutrition transition". He is the author of over 650 journal articles and a book, The World is Fat, translated into a dozen languages.
Obesity is defined as the excessive accumulation of fat and is predominantly caused when there is an energy imbalance between calorie consumption and calorie expenditure. Childhood obesity is becoming an increasing concern worldwide, and Australia alone recognizes that 1 in 4 children are either overweight or obese.
Chile's food labelling and advertising law, formally titled Ley 20.606, sobre la composición de los alimentos y su publicidad establishes a regulatory framework on food security and healthy food with the intention of guiding consumers towards behaviour patterns that promote public health. After the 2012 law was enacted, its accompanying regulations came into full force on June 27, 2016. Andrew Jacobs, writing for The New York Times, has characterized this measure as "the world’s most ambitious attempt to remake a country’s food culture" and suggests it "could be a model for how to turn the tide on a global obesity epidemic that researchers say contributes to four million premature deaths a year."
Ultra-processed foods tend to be junk food: low in fiber and high in sugar and calories, says [Fang Fang] Zhang. But because ultra-processed foods are defined by the types of ingredients they contain, not by their nutrition content, this category can also include foods with beneficial nutrients, like breads high in fiber.
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