Essay On Disadvantages Of Junk Food

Contrary to popular belief, the tomato is not the most consumed nightshade in the United States. It is however, the potato, in the form of French fries and chips. This shows that junk food has become a staple to most people’s diets, even though it is well-known for its numerous disadvantages. One disadvantage is it being a health risk. Junk food is a risk to one’s health because of its effects to the physical health, its effects to the mental health, and its effects to the environment. The most common drawback of junk food is its deleterious effects to the body. Junk food is known as one of the many factors that lead to obesity. Even a tiny amount of junk food can greatly increase one’s calorie intake as they can also slow down one’s

One major effect of junk food to the environment is pollution. The main factor of junk food contributing to pollution is its packaging. “Every year around 3.2 million tones of waste are added due to packaging” (“How eating junk food threatens the environment,” 2012). The packets containing the junk food and the materials used for producing them contribute to a significant amount of waste. Another effect is the production of greenhouse gases. In one study, it was found that “some candies [and chips] are as much harmful to the environment as pork meat” (“How eating junk food threatens the environment,” 2012). It was observed that in every production of one kilogram of chips, 2.2 kilos of greenhouse gas are produced. One suggested way of reducing one’s carbon footprint was cutting back red meat consumption, and in recent studies it was found that reducing one’s junk food intake will result to the same effect. Lastly, junk food induces increase in fuel consumption. Most of the energy demand is fulfilled through the use of nonrenewable resources, and it is used in producing and supplying the food to different places. It is important to remember that these effects can damage not only one person’s health, but a