How Junk Food Affects Teenagers and Kids Health?

What Is Junk Food?

Junk food is defined as any unhealthy food with a high content of fat and sugar-rich in calories lacking or having very little nutritional value. Some examples of junk food are French fries, burgers, noodles, wafers, cookies, chips, colas, any packet as well as Processed food. Such foods are tasty, quick, convenient, and also very fashionable. 

Junk food has become a part of our life but we forget that this junk food is affecting our teeth and we need to take care of it and that is when we require the best orthodontist in Mumbai. 

It is shown and research has also proved that eatables like chocolates, small-time snacks, colas, and flavored drinks have artificial coloring which can have adverse effects on the digestive system.  However, the harm that it brings along is more dangerous than anyone can imagine. The effects it can have on the human body are harmful and result in long-term ill effects like diabetes, heart diseases, obesity, depression, cancer, and even early death. 

Obesity is the Main Cause of Eating Junk Food. 

It is unhealthy even in the long run. According to research, parents who don’t allow their kids to eat junk food save them from serious metabolic diseases in the future, obesity being one of them. Since during this age they undergo bodily changes, a good and healthy diet will help with the hormonal changes taking place during this time. 

Hence Avoiding Junk Food 

It is a must since it can cause damages to the smooth functioning of the body organs. Poor diets can slow their growth. They need to know the difference between what is healthy and what is not.

Eating excessive junk food during this phase has its effects on the brain and can cause alterations in brain development. It has been seen that it is quite difficult for teens to resist eating cheap junk foods and also bags of candy. 

A very common scenario where you will find a child or a teen coming home from school and the first thing would be to de-stress by sitting in front of the T.V. with a large bowl of wafers or chips and a can of cola or any other sugar-filled beverage. They have unknowingly taken a huge step into the world of cheap fast foods and vending machines, not aware of the danger awaiting them and the havoc they are creating for themselves on their own. 

Junk food is mostly consumed by kids and teenagers. 

Adults are shown to consume lesser amounts of junk food compared to the smaller ones. Kids are introduced to fast food by parents themselves while outer factors like peer pressure, advertisements, and commercials make teens more prone to eating more junk. 

Read Also: No Junk Food: Eat Healthy to Stay Healthy

With a vast majority of mothers working and no time to cook, traditional food skills are not passed on. Dinner time with the family is limited to almost not happening in plenty of households making it difficult for the kids to realize the importance of eating for nourishment and not just to survive. Exposure to the internet has given children plenty of information making it a lot easier for them to adopt a not-so-healthy style of living. 

With everything available so easily online, especially access to ordering junk food, it gives them an upper hand and changes their lifestyle. Once kids get the taste of junk food they tend to insist on having it more often than home food. The interest in such food remains for a very long time. In cases like when the teen is staying alone or has moved to another place for studies, which happens a lot these days, cooking becomes difficult and hence they rely on outside food like fast food. 

There is a weird concept that taking out the sugar or the fat or fried portion and only eating the healthy portion of the junk food will not term it as junk. This is completely wrong thinking since no matter what you take out, it will not turn healthy. It will remain the same junk food you plan on indulging in. Even substituting the part of the fast food with healthy food won’t make it any less healthy. 

It all starts with the parents who need to instill in them the right habits. These habits will turn into a healthy lifestyle which they will adopt which in turn will help them in the long run in being better adults and practicing a healthy lifestyle. 

Junk food doesn’t Ensure a Balanced Diet. 

The teen or child won’t be able to concentrate or focus on his/her studies and even on extracurricular activities which may get hampered. They need the energy and focus at that phase. Their diets need to be taken care of at a young age. Parents should put effort and monitor what their kids eat and provide alternatives that are much healthier than the junk that they eat. Parents need to create an environment that aids in protecting their children’s and teens’ overall health and eating habits. 

Children, especially teenagers need to know the importance of a healthy lifestyle and they need to stay away from such junk food. Try and make snacks for them that are healthy and also try to make their favorite junk food at home in a healthy way. For example, if they love French fries from outside, you could make the fries at home and instead of frying them, you could bake them for them. Small steps like these will help them in the long run. 

Dental Implants are also required at times for adults with the over-consumption of junk food and to visit them it is necessary to visit the best dental implant center in Mumbai to get yourself properly treated.