Negative Effects of Today’s Food on Elementary-Aged Children

1484 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: consequences of fast food

In today’s culture, people judge food by its convenience and taste. Processed and fast foods are quick, easy, and taste fairly good. Children, especially, enjoy fast food and packaged snacks. While this may seem a good solution to this fast-paced society, it is actually a dangerous habit. Fifteen percent of children ages six to nineteen are overweight, and the number is growing (Back to School). Even if a child is not obese, he often does not eat healthy and faces the danger of becoming overweight. Processed and preserved foods and fast food negatively affect elementary-aged children’s health and future lifestyle.

First, consider the convenience factor. Processed and preserved foods are easy to obtain and stay fresh for long periods of time. However, these foods are unhealthy because of the refining process and additives. “Refining destroys and devitalizes most of the food’s goodness” (Jordan 1). The Health Department still allows food to be bleached, even though there is a toxic effect.

There are several different types of convenience foods today. They share the same qualities, such as chemical additives and less nutritional value than real food. The level of chemicals they contain differentiates them. The first is processed food, which is real food infused with chemicals and preservatives in order to keep the food fresh longer. To attain this goal, it is stripped of nutrients and pumped with additives that your body is unable to efficiently digest (Jordan 1).

The second type of convenience food is junk food. This contains very little real food and is made of processed food, fats, chemicals, and preservatives. The chemicals that junk food contains are less expensive than real food, so it is cheaper to mass-produce.

T...

... middle of paper ...

....org/articles/article_9824.cfm>.

Ludwig, David, and Suzanne Rostler. Ending the Food Fight. New York: Houghton

Mifflin Company, 2007.

“4 Most Harmful Ingredients in Packaged Food.” Reader’s Digest. 1 Feb. 2012. .

O’Dea, Kerin. “Are Low-fat Foods always a Healthy Choice?” ABC Health & Well-being. April 27, 2011. 31 Jan. 2012. .

Romm, Aviva Jill. Naturally Healthy Babies and Children. California: Celestial Arts,

2003.

Green, Tara. “Fast Food Nutrition Facts-Mystery Ingredients are Industrial Chemicals.” Natural News. December 3, 2011. 31 Jan. 2012. .

Zinczenko, David, and Matt Goulding. Eat This, Not That! For Kids. New York: Rodale

Inc., 2008.

Show More
Related

  • Nutritionism Essay

    1615 Words  | 4 Pages

    Michael Pollan discusses two categories of food: one is real food (the kind our great-grandmother would recognize), while the other is “edible food-like substances”. The category that needs defending according to Pollan is the real food. This category of food is minimally processed, fresh (will eventually rot), and includes mostly things that are taken straight from the source (the ground, tree, etc.). When one walks into a store, they should look for and pick the foods that are more “quiet”such as fresh produce than the ones that have more labels that say they are more healthy, or better for you.

    Read More

  • Children Obesity Issue in the US

    745 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...s that the processed food is going to waste. “In addition, a growing number of consumers are asking questions about where their food was produced, how it was produced, and who produced it (Hendrickson).”

    Read More

  • Childhood Obesity: Fast Food Companies Are To Blame

    904 Words  | 2 Pages

    Since the fast food industry is targeting America’s youth, providing healthier options on children’s menus will reduce the rate of childhood obesity and allow for a healthy future.

    Read More

  • The American Diet

    619 Words  | 2 Pages

    From the advancement in technology, food preparation has changed over the twentieth century from food mainly being cook and prepared in a home setting to now mainly being prepared and served through lines of a fast food restaurant. With people on the move from place to place and having a busy schedule, people now rely on fast food restaurants for main course meals. Even though fast food has provided food for people with a low income or no money at all, fast food still have processed food, preservatives, and filters that can cause cancer and other harmful effects.

    Read More

  • The Negative Effects Of Junk Food

    1384 Words  | 3 Pages

    The people who are related to cooking and healthy dieting point at the fact that the unhealthy food is a “number one cause of the most common diseases, including cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and heart disease” (Maffetone). Among the food that contains immense amounts of sugar are cakes, ice-creams, and biscuits that are highly loved especially by children. They can easily become a reason for becoming fat and gaining overweight. The same situation is with the high content of salt in the junk food which might result in high blood pressure, and can consequently lead even to strokes and heart attacks. Ready-made food might also contain the substances like preservatives or taste enhancers that contribute to the taste and increase the expiration date. Nevertheless, as Jamie Oliver emphasized the commonly known fact, “diet-related disease is the biggest killer in the United States, right now, here today” (Oliver). The consumption of incorrectly balanced food results in severe outcomes for our health system, and those changes tend to be irreversible as well as the diseases are hard to

    Read More

  • Essay On Fast Food

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many Americans have busy lives and do not have time to cook for themselves, so eating out seems to be easier and more convenient. It is often said that eating out is less expensive than cooking a meal at home (Muntel 1). People buy fast food to get food fast (Ervin 1). Fast food restaurants are located virtually everywhere making it an easy option. Fast food is cheap, and usually a person can get a great deal for just a dollar. Many people treat themselves to a fast food dessert, because it is easy and usually tastes better than making it at home, but it is also more unhealthy (Muntel 1). Many children want to get a fatty kids meal so they can get a toy. Some kids crave a high calorie kids meal, because their favorite games online are owned by the fast food chain that sells them (Phillips 3).

    Read More

  • Cardio Metabolic Risk Analysis

    686 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first group is unprocessed or minimally processed foods, the second is processed culinary or food industry ingredients, and the third is ultra-processed food products. The results of the studies shows that processed food has various consequences to the health of consumers. The risk of certain diseases and illnesses increases when consuming processed foodson a daily basis. The significance of the results from the study proves that processed foods have negative social, cultural, and environmental impacts on consumers. The methods that were utilized to test those concepts are the examination of the three household expenditure surveys that were carried out by the Brazilian Federal Bureau of Geography and Statistics from March 1987 to June 2003. This article will help support my points because it supports my argument that processed food is unhealthy and has serious long-term consequences on daily

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay About Food

    1094 Words  | 3 Pages

    Food is a major part of everyone’s everyday life. It’s hard to imagine life without the chocolate cake on your fingers or a carne asada taco in your mouth. Enjoying delicious desserts and fast food seem extremely magnificent to eat and spend money buying them. Although, there have been many controversies in the United States on how it’s the largest country with the most obesity regarding children, which affects their health, many people are still going throughout their day snacking. Many people in America are having full course meals with thousands of calories in one sitting not knowing the short term or long term side effects that are going to take a huge toll on their lives. Food is delicious, but it comes with a secret behind the savoriness/sweetness.

    Read More

  • Organic Foods vs Processed Foods

    1172 Words  | 3 Pages

    Food has been a common source of necessity in our everyday lives as humans. It helps gives us nutrition and energy to live throughout our life. Over several decades, the development of making foods has evolved. They have changed from natural to processed foods in recent years. Nowadays natural ingredients are barely used in the making of foods like bread, cheese, or yogurt. The food industry today has replaced natural food making with inorganic ingredients. The cause of this switch is due to processed foods being easier, cheaper and faster to make. Artificial nutrition and processed foods have been proven to last longer in market shelves then natural foods. Also, due to artificial additives in processed foods they help satisfy consumers taste more than natural ingredients. The method of producing processed foods is common in today's food industry and helps make money faster and efficiently for companies. Examples of this can be found in all markets that distribute food. Even though processed foods may be easier and faster to make, they are nowhere near as healthy for consumers compared to natural foods. Natural foods are healthier, wholesome, and beneficial to the human body and planet then processed foods.

    Read More

  • Obesity: Fat People Lack Self-Control

    1038 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fast food contains high amounts of salt, sugar, fat, and preservatives. Americans in today’s society want food and they want it now. Manufacturers have figured this out and fill the food with many artificial and unhealthy chemicals. If a person saw what the food looked like in the pre processed state, one would most likely not buy it or eat it.

    Read More

  • Processed Food Should or Should not Be Banned from School Meals?

    3534 Words  | 8 Pages

    Food is “composed of synthetic chemical additives, such as colorings, preservatives, sugar substitutes and trans-fats” (Fitzgerald, 2006, p.72). Fitzgerald reported that by the “1970s most meats and dairy products that were factory farmed were laced with growth hormones, antibiotics and a range of pesticides” (p.72). Furthermore, food that is frozen, packaged and canned is considered processed food. A brief explanation of the chemical additives in processed food. 1.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Processed Foods

    1027 Words  | 3 Pages

    The most harmful, from all the different types of processed foods, is ultra-processed foods. Ultra-processed foods are a mixture of cheap ingredients. Some examples are: sugar, high fructose corn syrup, food coloring, and enriched flour. Sixty percent of American’s calorie intake is ultra-processed foods. Cara Rosenbloom, from The Washington Post, explains “… ultra-processed foods are high in sugar, fat and salt, and lack fiber, vitamins and minerals. People who consume more ultra-processed foods have a greater risk of obesity, hypertension and high blood sugar levels, which can lead to heart disease and diabetes.” Even though Ultra-processed foods are very harmful to adults and children, processed foods use pesticides to keep it

    Read More

  • Processed Food Essay

    1312 Words  | 3 Pages

    Processed foods make up 70% of the U.S. diet. Over the past century, a gradual revolution continues to increase the average consumer’s intake of highly processed food products. Everyday, new food-like substances are replacing real food on supermarket shelves and companies continue to fuel this epidemic by mislabeling products. Consumers must learn how to avoid processed food substances, which have been associated to numerous health concerns, and select healthier alternatives.

    Read More

  • Essay On Food Preservatives

    827 Words  | 2 Pages

    When I woke up this morning, after I brushed my teeth, looking in the mirror, I thought to myself ; “what am I putting into my body that shouldn’t be there?” The answer to that question is the processed foods that large food corporations sell to us consumers and make us think that we are eating healthy and nutritious foods when we are eating processed foods filled with preservatives to make them last longer. As a consumer, if I buy a food item, I would think that this product is safe for my family and I to consume, but what’s the point of purchasing that product if that guarantee is not there. Why would you want something in your food that would make that food item look the same way after its natural expiration period? These additives are chemicals that corporations agree to add to make foods last longer. But thinking logically, why should food last longer than the natural decomposition period? It shouldn’t, food should last the time that it naturally should last. Not only can these foods be extremely unhealthy to my body, but they can also be leading to future problems that I will have. Due to the way I eat in todays day and age, I tend to ask myself a question more frequently than I should which is What affect can food preservatives do on the human body?

    Read More

  • The Differences Of Healthy Food And Fast Food

    758 Words  | 2 Pages

    Food has been known as an unavoidable component of life which makes it a basic necessity. There are two main types of foods:healthy food and fast food. Although they have some similarities ,there are a lot of differences between them. Healthy foods provoke energy and decrease the risk of so many diseases. On the contrary, fast foods are high in sugar and fat, which may lead to many health issues like heart and liver diseases. They both can be tasty and have several varieties to choose . On the other hand,there are two main differences between the two types. The first one is related to health . The second one is related to cost.

    Read More

More about Negative Effects of Today’s Food on Elementary-Aged Children

Open Document