INTRODUCTION:

Poor eating habits is gist not having enough of the healthy foods which is consumed in an unappropriated manner. Over the past few decades there is increasing drift of consumption of the fast foods which is generally known as Junk food also. The famous microbiologist Dr. Michael F. Jacobson coined the phrase “Junk Food” in 1972 to describe it as unhealthy or non- nutritious food ^(v). Junk foods are getting popular very fast among all the age groups, mainly children and adolescent. Study has found that eating junk food increases the risk of becoming depressed thanthat follows a traditional Mediterranean diet¹. The fast food contains good quality of fat, sugar or it may be processed, lead to inflammation of not just the gut but the whole body, known as “systemic inflammation”. In that respect the impact of poor diet is like that of smoking, pollution, obesity and lack of exercise¹.

In various study, it is having been seen that fats from junk food items are crammed in, lead to reduction in one of the vital acids in brain. This fatty acid plays an important role in learning processes. Being cosset of junk food like sandwich, burgers during office hours, we are doing more harm than good to our productivity².

Body needs healthy and balance food as fuel for top physical performance; high quality nutrients and thus, mal- nutrition during routine work adversely affect the physical performance³ The changing lifestyle of people not only affects the nutritional status but also affect their physical performance. Junk food has been accepted by today’s world due to attractive colours, presentation, taste, convenient, low cost, easily available and easy to consume. Junk food is also known as slang for foods of useless or low nutrition value³. Junk food should be avoided because of lack of energy, high cholesterol, very high in calories, salt and facts and lack of nutrients viz. Vitamins, minerals, fibres, excess consumption of junk foods leads rise to wise variety of health disorder⁴.

REASONS OF POPULARITY OF JUNK FOOD:

In the fast-developing world, no one wants to waste their time instated they like use some shortcut and compromise on one or other drawbacks of it. Due to this tendency, various home appliances, mobile applications, facilities, etc are being introduced. People mainly youngsters do not opt for homemade nutrition food they go for fast food (junk food) which is made fast or available fast and easy to consume. This food is available easy and is delicious in taste. Time factor is one reason for the popularity of the junk food.

Whatever we eat, taste matters a lot. A good taste of the food attracts and retains its consumer. Due to use of heaps of oil, salt, sugar the taste is developed attracts the consumer. Creating good taste buds is also a big reason of huge fan followers.

The junk food is easily availability and cost effective let it be your workplace, hangout place, restaurants, mall, nearby street, etc. Above all, the food is economical to every body’s pocket.

The packing of the products is another factor of its popularity. Attractive ways of packing the food, eye catching colours of the wrappers are other factor of the popularity of the junk food. Along with which, the presentation of the food also matters. By adding food additives and colours enhance its flavour.

Creating awareness about the product through advertisement and availability of the product plays a major role in attracting the public mainly children and youngsters to the junk food selling point⁶.

CONTRIBUTION OF JUNK FOOD’s TO POOR HEALTH:

1. Junk foods are highly rich in fat content. Foods like fries, pizza, burgers, chips, fried chicken, etc are usually loads of saturated fat in diet which results in overweight and this risk to the health of heart and causes other diseases⁸.

2. Junk foods contain high percentage of salt. Salt is generally used for preservation of goods. High intake of salt while consuming junk is unhealthy for health.

3. The percentage rate of sugar is also high in this food. It provides more than required. Sugar enriches the taste of the food but excess sugar make people fat, rots the teeth, bad for blood and also cause other disease⁹.

4. People try to settle their meals by consuming junk food which may result in dyslexia, ADHA (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and may be autism^10,11.

CONSUMING THE WRONG TYPES OF FOOD:

Eating habits are one of the few factors within our control^15.Poor diet that impact contributes to increased risk on early harmful health issue. Poor diet causes more deaths worldwide. It also reduces immunity power. This results in weak body which cannot fight in full bloom with interloper harmful organisms. Nutrient fledged human body keeps interloper harmful organisms under control which do not results in detrimental diseases. Poor nutrition can weaken our daily health which will lead to not awful outcome. Other effects of poor dietary habits are over or under weight, tooth decay, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease and stroke, diabetes, depression¹⁶, etc. It is also important to note down that this practice will also have consequence of once performance.

Time of intake of food also matters a lot. If the stomach contains partially digested food when the person eats another meal, the digestive process can be seriously impaired. This would result into getting a small fire started with kindling and then dumping a load of logs on the fire. Even though logs are good fuel, the fledgling fire was not ready for so much fuel. Conversely, if a person waits too long between meals, secretion of digestive juices stops. This would be akin to letting the kindling go out before putting logs on the fire. We need to eat when the stomach signals true hunger¹⁶.

Dr. Ashkan Afshin “Diet is an equal-opportunity killer. People- independent of age, gender, country of residence and socioeconomic status –to some extents are affected by poor dietary habits.” “Low intake of healthy foods and high intake of unhealthy foods is the leading cause of mortality, globally and in many countries.”¹⁷

EFFECTS OF POOR STATUS ON HEALTH VIA JUNK FOOD ¹²:

Here are some junk food facts that help to understand the harmful effects associated with them. Some of them are long term while others are short terms effects. The fat contents have high cholesterol level. High calorie content with sugar can lead to obesity. Cholesterol and salt can increase blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease in chain. Excessive salt can impair the functioning of kidney too.

· Lack of energy:

This is known as short term adverse effect resulting from eating junk food as junk food don’t provide the essential nutrients [like vitamins, protein, and fibres] even though they can very much sufficing, peoples feel weakened.

· Poor concentration:

This is another result of junk food habit. These are traced to effect in immediate and medium-term periods when peoples have a sumptuous junk meal rich in oil, they feel drowsy and fail to concentrate. Over sustained periods of junk food eating leads to drop of blood circulation due to fat accumulation, lack of vital oxygen, nutrients and protein particularly can stale their brain cells temporarily.

· High cholesterol:

Apart from forming plaques and constricting arteries cholesterol also affects liver where it is metabolized. High cholesterol due to junk food diet strains liver damaging. This can be a long-term effect.

· Heart diseases:

Junk food diet is a major cause of heart diseases (Myocardial infarction) due to plaque formation in arteries which demands heart to put in extra effort to pump blood on the downstream, on the upstream there is lack of returning blood to heart, this causes two damages to heart – heart fatigues due to continuous extra effort and it suffer in oxygen supply.

· Low nutrition value:

The nutritional value of junk food is about one on a scale of 1 to 10, which is the least. The nutritional value is lost in the process of making the junk food so synthetic vitamins and minerals are added to compensate it, but they are not good compared to natural vitamins and minerals. Natural photochemical are not present in junk food which soaks up the free radicals to prevent disease.

· Highly addictive:

It is well known fact that fat and sugar are as addictive as heroin and cocaine, they stimulate the same receptors in the brain that make feel good due to increased dopamine level. Junk foods have a lot of hidden sugar and fat to make it addictive and also enhance the taste.

· High chemical additives:

Junk food have lots of chemical additives which are not useful to body, things are like artificial colouring and preservatives. All the techniques used to process the junk food – canning, dehydrating, and freezing, virtually destroy the flavour of food so chemicals under the guise of ‘natural flavour’ have been added to enamel the flavour, while colour additives are added to make food fresh. It might make the food look and taste better, but it is harmful to our bodies.

· Lack of oxygen supply:

Junk food is rich in fat so accumulation of fat can take place in bronchioles so oxygen supply tends to reduce in body which can cause some respiratory disorders.

CONCLUSION:

One must be very careful or follow healthy eating practices right from their childhood as majority of our body immunity is developed at that age. Consumption of junk food may cause various illness such as poor brain development, malfunctioning of lungs, poor concentration, obesity, respiratory disorders etc. At corporate level also companies can follow some healthy food practices for their employees in their canteen or Cafeteria. Junk food also affects the performance of employees at their workplace and hence companies have to take this matter as a matter of concern. Regular exercise and improved diet with healthy eating habits can help to avoid serious health issues. Therefore, boycotting junk food for sky-scraping productivity is essential.

REFENENCES:

1. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/sep/26/eating-junk-food-raises-risk-of-depression-says-multi-country-study

2. https://medium.com/@proofhub/eating-habits-that-are-making-you-less-productive-at-work-fc1dec2b0a2d

3. Anmol Lamba, Veena Garg. Impact of junk food on health status and physical performance of school going children (12-13 years). International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition. 2017 November 6;(2) 2:49-51.

4. Bhaskar Rajveer, Ola Monika. Junk food: impact on health. Journal of Drug Delivery & Therapeutics. 2012, available on http://jddtonline.info.

5. Sharma V. Adolescent’s knowledge regarding harmful effects of junk food. IOSR Journal of Nursing and Health Sciences. 2013; 1(6):01-04.

6. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0220209.t001 The productivity gains associated with a junkfood tax and their impact on cost effectiveness Hannah E. Carter, Deborah J. Schofield, Rupendra Shrestha, Lennert Veerman

7. Bhasker Rajweer and Ola Monika, in their paper on “ Junk food:impact on health”, published in Journal of Drug Delivery & Therapeutics. 2012, 2(3):67-73 with ISSN: 2250-1177

8. http://www.nutritionexploration.org/kids/nutrition-main-asp

9. http://EzineArticles.com/?Expert=SusanneMyers

10. http://EzineArticles.com/?Expert=BrendaWillams

11. https://www.healthline.com/health/nutrition-and-productivity#consequences

12. https://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/natural-medicine/chinese/traditional-chinese-medicine-causes-of-illness7.htm

13. http://ezinearticles.com/?Expert=MarkCorner

14. https://fertilitypedia.org/edu/risk-factors/poor-dietary-habits

15. https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/public+content/sa+health+internet/healthy+living/is+your+health+at+risk/the+risks+of+poor+nutrition

16. Jamie Ducharme.“Poor Diets Are Linked to 20% of All Deaths Worldwide, Study Says. But These Foods Could Help”, April3,2019, https://time.com/5562994/diet-disease-mortality/

Received on 28.07.2022 Modified on 14.12.2022

Asian Journal of Management. 2023;14(2):118-120.

DOI: 10.52711/2321-5763.2023.00018