Rejecting Health as a Justification for Junk Food Taxes.

Nowadays, infertile incidences in young married couple are increasing and the women got unreguler menstruation cycles that pretend a Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) predisposition. Accretion of PCOS incidences coincide with accretion of junk food (JF) consumption life style in women. This study is description from some literatures of predisposition of JF consumption life style towards PCOS incidence accretion. JF is being PCOS predisposition because its refined carbohydrate increasing insulin resistance risk; high glucose-salts-fats ingredients disturbing hormones balance; JF is processed using partial hydrogenated oil; frying of JF using oxidized oil that producing radical damage of the cell; JF is fried using high temperature over 100° celcius that inducing aldehid and keton formation; JF is fried using over 4 times heating. Thus, importance of education about JF consumption and healthy foods in family must be done since the child has born; socialization of JF hazard in the household scale; education of JF consumption and healthy foods in the school; restriction of business permit in JF; restriction and regulation of business advertisement in JF; accretion of business tax in JF; tightening of public regulation about healthy life style.Nowadays, infertile incidences in young married couple are increasing and the women got unreguler menstruation cycles that pretend a Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) predisposition. Accretion of PCOS incidences coincide with accretion of junk food (JF) consumption life style in women. This study is description from some literatures of predisposition of JF consumption life style towards PCOS incidence accretion. JF is being PCOS predisposition because its refined carbohydrate increasing insulin resistance risk; high glucose-salts-fats ingredients disturbing hormones balance; JF is processed using partial hydrogenated oil; frying of JF using oxidized oil that producing radical damage of the cell; JF is fried using high temperature over 100° celcius that inducing aldehid and keton formation; JF is fried using over 4 times heating. Thus, importance of education about JF consumption and healthy foods in family must be done since the child has born; socialization of JF hazard in the household scale; education of JF consumption and healthy foods in the school; restriction of business permit in JF; restriction and regulation of business advertisement in JF; accretion of business tax in JF; tightening of public regulation about healthy life style.

The relationship between junk food consumption, healthy nutrition, and obesity among children aged 7 to 8 years in Mersin, Turkey

Background: Junk foods typically contain high calories from sugar or fat with little protein, vitamins, or minerals. This study was conducted to determine the consumption and prevalence of junk food consumed among school-age adolescents. The main aims of this study were to find out the junk food consumption among school-age adolescents (5-18) in Kanakasundari rural municipality.Methods: This was analytical cross-sectional research. The total sample size for the study was 280. Purposive sampling was used to select the schools and census was used to select the students from the schools. A self-administered semi-structured questionnaire in Nepali version was used to collect the data and the collected data were entered and analysed in SPSS using simple statistical methods.Results: Among the 280 respondents, the mean age was 15.17 years. The consumption of junk food among adolescents was 45 percent among males and 55 percent among females. Religion (p=0.011) and type of family (p=0.034) were significantly associated with junk food consumption. The participants following Hindu religion were 3.43 times more likely to be consume junk food (COR=3.430, 95% CI=1.256-9.366) as compared to non-Hindu. Participants residing in joint family were less likely to consume junk food (COR=0.490, 95% CI=0.252-0.954) as compared to nuclear family.Conclusions: Majority of children consumed junk food regularly; the majority preferred it for taste and some were influenced by advertisements. There is a great need to maintain healthy eating habits among adolescents to decrease the health risk associated with frequent junk food.

BackgroundThe ubiquitous supply of junk foods in our food environment has been partly blamed for the increased rates in overweight and obesity. However, consumption of these foods has generally been examined individually perhaps obscuring the true extent of their combined consumption and impact on health. An overall measure of children’s junk food consumption may prove useful in the development of child obesity prevention strategies. We describe the development of a children’s Junk Food Intake Measure (JFIM) to summarise temporal change in junk food consumption and examine the association between the JFIM and health-related behaviours.MethodsCross-sectional population surveillance survey of Australian children age 5–16 years collected in 2010 and 2015. Data were collected by questionnaire with parent’s proxy reporting for children in years K, 2 and 4 and children in years 6, 8 and 10 by self-report. Information on diet, screen-time and physical activity was collected using validated questionnaires. The JFIM comprised consumption of fried potato products, potato crisps/salty snacks, sweet and savoury biscuits/cakes/doughnuts, confectionary and, ice cream/ice blocks.ResultsA total of 7565 (missing = 493, 6.1%) and 6944 (missing n = 611, 8.1%) children had complete data on consumption of junk foods, in 2010 and 2015, respectively. The 2015 survey data showed that among students from high socio-economic status neighbourhoods, there were fewer high junk food consumers than low junk food consumers. Children from Middle Eastern cultural backgrounds had higher junk food consumption. High junk food consumers were more likely to consume take-away ≥3/week, eat dinner in front of the television, receive sweet rewards, be allowed to consume snacks anytime, have soft drinks available at home and a TV in their bedroom. There was a lower proportion of high junk food consumers in 2015 compared to 2010.ConclusionThis is the first study to provide and examine a summary measure of overall junk food consumption among Australian children. The results indicate that junk food consumption among Australian children is lower in 2015, compared with 2010. Still, the public health workforce must continue their efforts as levels of junk food consumption remain of concern among Australian children.

Background: As per National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, “Junk food is foods containing little or no proteins, vitamins, or minerals but are rich in salt, sugar, fats, and are high in energy (calories).” Many studies show junk foods have an adverse effect on both physical and mental health. Aims and Objectives: This study was taken up to take an insight into the adverse effects of excess calorie consumption during stress which is associated obesity and depression. Materials and Methods: A study on junk food consumption at SSMC, Tumkur to study the relationship between mental and physical health with the consumption of junk food among 1st-year MBBS students. A cross-sectional study was done on 1st-year MBBS students aged 19–21 year at SSMC, Tumkur with the approval of Institutional Ethics Committee. A modified questionnaire was circulated among 150 1st year MBBS students aged 19–21 years at SSMC, Tumkur through Google forms. The data collected were subjected to descriptive statistics and interpreted. Results: About 49% of the participants consumed junk foods regularly with 34% of the participants consuming more than once per week. More than 65% of participants consumed junk food in the evening. Around 46% of participants preferred weekend to consume junk foods. More than 50% of the participants consume junk foods when they are residing in hostel rather than home. More than 70% of the participants prefer junk food consumption during screen time. Conclusion: Factors that have led to consumption of junk food are affordability and cravings. Preference of consumption of carbonated drinks with junk food is also high. The study also shows a strong association of junk food consumption with stress and screen time behavior. Due to its low nutritional value, junk food should be discouraged. Hence, awareness program should be included in to the curriculum of all medical students and in other professions also.

Background: Urbanization and recent development in the food industries have led to a notable increase in junk food production, making them readily available, accessible and affordable. The main problem with junk foods is that they are low in satiation value. People do not tend to feel as full when they eat them, which can lead to overeating. Junk food tends to replace other, more nutritious foods. It is considered as one of the prominent causes of the pandemic of obesity. Objective: The study aims to find out the perception and factors influencing junk food consumption among private school children of Pokhara Valley, Nepal. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 220 students of 12 different private schools of grades 4-9 in Pokhara, Nepal. Systematic random sampling was done to collect samples. Data were collected by a self-administered questionnaire. Chi-square (χ2) test was used to find out the associated factors with junk food consumption. Results: Though the majority of the students (80.9%) stated, junk food was unhealthy but were predominantly lured by its taste. Taste (80.5%), lack of time (16.4%), advertisement (13.6%) and changing lifestyle (6.4%) were the major influencing factors for junk food consumption. Half of the students were unaware of the nutritive value, food quality, ingredients, preservatives used and negative consequences on health. Grade of the students and gender were found to be associated with the average frequency of junk food use per week and junk food consumption pattern, respectively. The data shows the average consumption of junk food increases as the students grew from smaller grades to higher ones (X2=53.025, P ≤0.01). Conclusion: Junk food consumption was notably high due to various enabling factors such as addictive taste, changing lifestyle, propagandist advertising and instant availability. Grade and gender of the students were the predictors of over-consuming junk foods.

BackgroundEntertainment media content is often mentioned as one of the roots of children’s unhealthy food consumption. This might be due to the high quantity of unhealthy foods presented in children’s media environments. However, less is known about the role of the centrality of food placement, that is, whether foods are interacted with, consumed, verbally mentioned, or appear unobtrusively. We also lack longitudinal research measuring both children’s unhealthy and healthy food consumption behaviors as outcomes.ObjectiveThe aim is to connect content analytical data based on children’s actual media diet with panel data in order to explain children’s food preferences. Moreover, this study not only focuses on the amount of healthy and unhealthy foods children are exposed to, but also on how these foods are presented (ie, centrally or not). Furthermore, we looked at the question of how parental coviewing can diminish (or enhance) the effects of unhealthy (or healthy) food depictions, and we measured healthy and unhealthy consumption as dependent variables.MethodsWe conducted a 2-wave panel study with children and one of their parents (of 2250 parents contacted, 829 responded, for a response rate of 36.84%; 648 valid cases, ie, parent-child pairs, were used for analysis), with 6 months between the 2 panel waves. We linked the 2-wave panel data for the children and their parents to content analytical data for movies (n=113) and TV series (n=134; 3 randomly chosen episodes per TV series were used) that children were exposed to over the course of 6 months.ResultsThere was no significant relationship between exposure to unhealthy food presentation and unhealthy (b=0.008; P=.07) or healthy (b=−0.003; P=.57) food consumption over time. Also, healthy food presentation was unrelated to unhealthy (b=0.009; P=.18) or healthy (b=0.000; P=.99) food consumption over time. However, there was a significant, positive interaction between unhealthy food presentation and presentation centrality on unhealthy food consumption (b=0.000; P=.03), suggesting that the effects of unhealthy food presentation rise with increasing levels of centrality. There was no interaction between unhealthy food presentation and presentation centrality on the consumption of healthy foods (b=0.000; P=.10). Also, exposure to healthy food presentation interacted with centrality (b=−0.001; P=.003). That is, when a healthy product was presented at maximum centrality, it led to less unhealthy food consumption in children. Coviewing did not interact with exposure to unhealthy foods when explaining unhealthy (b=0.003; P=.08) or healthy (b=−0.001; P=.70) food consumption.ConclusionsWe conclude that simply presenting more healthy foods is not sufficient to combat children’s unhealthy food preferences. Further regulations may be necessary with respect to representations of unhealthy foods in children’s media.

IntroductionJunk food (JF) consumption trend is increasing in all parts of the world. The transition in lifestyle and dietary habits is leading to many non-communicable diseases. The objectives of this study are twofold: (1) To examine the prevalence of junk food consumption and factors associated with consuming junk food among Saudi adults in Jeddah; and (2) to compare the trends of junk food consumption among males and females in Jeddah.MethodologyThis cross-sectional study was conducted in five different Primary Health Care centers (PHCCs) of Jeddah working under Ministry of Health. The subjects were men (n = 146) and women (n = 254) aged 18-67 years visiting these centers. Structured validated close ended questionnaire was filled by all the participants. Data analysis was done using SPSS. Chi-square was applied to analyze the difference between male and female JF consumption and multivariate logistic regression analysis was done to examine the risk factors.ResultsOverall the JF consumption in subjects with mean age 33.69 ± 12.29 years was highly prevalent in both genders (86.5%); (men = 85.6% and women = 87.4%). Controlling for some demographic and socioeconomic variables, increased junk food consumption was independently associated with education (OR = 2.47, 95% CI: 1.088-5.605, p = 0.031), individuals who had limited time (OR = 3.82, 95% CI: 1.690-8.642, p < 0.001), for the change of routine and taste (OR = 7.64, 95% CI: 3.145-18.563, p < 0.001 and OR = 11.031, 95% CI: 4.219-28.843, p < 0.001, respectively).ConclusionThe study findings provide evidence on the high prevalence of junk food consumption among Saudi adults. Junk food has influence in the dietary patterns of Saudi adults and this trend is likely to rise. This growing widespread use of junk food is of concern which may cause obesity-related non-communicable diseases.

Consumption of junk food is an environmental factor linked to obesity and may heighten the risk of obesity-related diseases, representing a significant public health issue. The study aim is to clarify the association between junk food consumption and obesity among students at Benghazi University and will also examine students' knowledge of the adverse effects of junk food consumption. A cross-sectional study was conducted among students in the medical colleges of the University of Benghazi from January 2024. A self-administered questionnaire was utilized, including socio-demographic data, patterns of junk food consumption, knowledge about Junk food, and weight and height measurements. A total of 354 students participated in the study, with 67.5% female and 32.5% male. The majority (84.4%) were less than 25 years old. Notably, 98.9% of students consume junk food. 39.5% of students reported consuming junk food once or twice a week. Knowledge assessment revealed that 47.7% had good knowledge, 26.3% had fair knowledge, and 26% had poor knowledge regarding junk food. Based on the Body Mass Index (BMI) classification, 52.8% of participants had a normal BMI, 26.3% were overweight, 13.6% were obese, and 7.3% were underweight. Increased weekly junk food consumption was observed, alongside a high prevalence of overweight and obesity among students, despite a majority having normal BMI. No significant association between junk food consumption and BMI was found. Students acknowledged junk food's negative effects but continued consumption due to emotional factors and taste preference.

Kingdome of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has undergone lifestyle changes that have resulted in unhealthy dietary patterns So this study aims to investigate the frequency, determinants, and the context of Fast Food (FF), and Junk Food (JF) consumption,, to study the effect of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) food related policy, and to study the use of Ministry of Health (MOH) calorie guide among Saudi population all over KSA. Through a cross-sectional study recruited 355 randomly selected Saudis stratified to represent the 20 health regions in KSA through a self-administered and validated questionnaire. Ethical approval was obtained for this work. Results; The majority had age distribution between 20-&lt; 40 y, and 218 (61.4%) were single. The prevalence of FF, and JF consumption was 308 (86.7 %).The most frequently consumed FF in descending order were (French fries, Shawarma, Burger, then Pizza) , while the most frequently consumed JF in descending order were (all kinds of cocoa, and cakes, then Ice cream), and more than half of participants did not drink carbonated soft drinks. Dinner was the main time of consuming FF (79.2%), and soft drinks (55.6%), while sweets were consumed mainly as snack (68.8%). The consumption of FF, and JF were significantly higher among young participants. The most common causes for consuming the above mentioned foods were entertainment 173 (48.5%), eating with friends 100 (28.1%) and due to better taste 92 (25.8%). The majority 48.7% of Saudi were unaware about the SFDA food related policy. Although the use of calorie labeling policy significantly (p&lt;0.05) affected the food choices, reduced the average weekly spending on Saudi Riyal, but not on weight loss. We concluded that FF, and JF consumption among Saudis is a prevalent, and complex problem, indicating a critical need for community-based interventions to change the attitudes and behaviors toward healthy eating.

Background: Available evidence indicates that junk foods, defined as unhealthy foods with high-calorie and low-nutrient value, negatively affect mental and metabolic health of children. This study aimed to conduct a meta-analysis to clarify the association between junk food consumption and psychological distress in children and adolescents. Methods: A systematic literature search of relevant documents published in PubMed, Web of Science, and SCOPUS was conducted up to 2022. All observation studies which assessed association of junk foods and psychological distress in children and adolescents were included. Random-effect model was used to pool odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) from individual studies. Subgroup meta-analysis was performed based on junk foods categories (sweet drinks, sweet snacks and snacks). Results: Data of 17 included articles on junk foods consumption in relation to depression, stress, anxiety, sleep dissatisfaction and happiness in children and adolescents were included in this systematic review. According to random effect model, the pooled OR in the highest vs. the lowest category of junk foods was 1.62 (95% CI: 1.35–1.95) for depression, 1.34 (95% CI: 1.16–1.54) for stress, 1.24 (95% CI: 1.03–1.50) for anxiety, 1.17 (95% CI: 1.05–1.30) for sleep dissatisfaction and 0.83 (95% CI: 0.75–0.92) for happiness. In subgroup meta-analysis, there were significant associations between different types of junk foods and psychological distress (P < 0.05). Conclusion: This meta-analysis showed that junk foods consumption was associated with increased odds of psychological distress in children and adolescents. These findings support the current recommendation of decreasing junk foods intake.

The rising prevalence of diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases is a major global public health concern. The consumption of junk food – food high in fat, sugar, and salt – contributes to unhealthy weight gain, obesity, and NCDs. The World Health Organization recognizes the health benefits of introducing tax on junk food, proposing that such a policy would encourage healthier dietary choices leading to the reduction of NCD prevalence. Multiple countries have adopted this policy to tackle NCDs. This systematic review focuses on the experience from Mexico and hopes to provide insights on using health tax policy as a public health intervention. The prevalence of various NCDs in Mexico is among the highest in the world. To address this issue, Mexico has decided to regulate the junk food market by introducing an 8% and a 10% tax on non-essential energy-dense foods (NEDFs) and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), respectively, since January 2014. The purchase and consumption of NEDFs and SSBs have declined in the post-tax period. Mathematical models on weight change, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease policy have also predicted a drop in the prevalence of overweight, obesity, diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and mortality, even if calorie compensation is factored in. This translates into a promising reduction in the burden of health due to NCDs and healthcare costs, particularly for those of lower socioeconomic status, thus promoting health equity. However, the policy is not without shortcomings. For instance, the tax effect is not evenly distributed as it varies across types of foods, regions, and retailers; hence hindering the maximum potential of the policy. In addition, the awareness of the junk food tax and its motives is also not universal among the population, which diminishes the impact of the policy. Complementary strategies such as healthy food subsidies or educational campaigns to promote the policy should be considered to maximize the effect. Countries that are considering junk food tax as a public health policy to tackle NCDs should learn from Mexico’s example.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of environmental influences on Greek preadolescents' junk food consumption. A cross-sectional study, was conducted among 1718 preadolescents (mean (standard deviation(SD)) age: 11.2(0.8) years old; 54% girls) and their parents, during the school years 2014-2016. Parental and child characteristics were collected anonymously, through self-administered and validated questionnaires. Among others, junk food consumption was recorded, classifying children as low, moderate, and high consumers. The majority of the preadolescents were classified as at least moderate junk food consumers, while almost 3/10 children were classified as high junk food consumers. A significantly lower junk food consumption was observed among preadolescents with a healthier family environment, consisting of normal-weight parents who consume junk foods less frequently, prefer home-cooked meals and adhere more to the Mediterranean diet, while more frequent family meals were also associated with lower junk food consumption. In addition, influence from teachers and participation in extracurricular sports activities were significantly associated with lower junk food consumption, while advertisements were found to have a significant negative impact on preadolescents' eating habits. Notwithstanding, peers were not found to influence their dietary choices in terms of junk food consumption. Both parents and teachers seem to be positive influencers on preadolescents' low junk food consumption. The detrimental role of advertisements on junk food consumption is reconfirmed, while peers' influence is not significant on junk food consumption. The need for urgent public health initiatives for the promotion of healthy dietary habits among preadolescents is warranted.

Background: Globalization, economic progress, urbanization, and industrialization have ushered in considerable changes in lifestyles and diet regimes. Consumption of junk food has surged at a rapid pace nowadays. In Nepal, there is a lack of sufficient research regarding junk food practices and persuading factors for its consumption, among teenage students. It is a global concern and has threatened the health of many people.&#x0D; Objective: This research aims to explore the factors associated with junk food consumption among students of secondary level in Ratnanagar Municipality of Chitwan. &#x0D; Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional research design consisting of 371 secondary level students, and selection based on primary data collection method by the researchers was used in this study. The data was analyzed using descriptive as well as an inferential statistical method. To find the association of different factors with junk food consumption levels (Low, Moderate, and High) multinomial logistic regression model (MLRM) was used, and the goodness of fit of the model was assessed.&#x0D; Results: The fitted MLRM satisfied the criteria of the diagnostic test including a test of goodness of fit, multi-collinearity test, and minimum criteria of the model utilization with the classification accuracy of 55%. The variables like family monthly income (OR=1.000011, C.I=1.000001 - 1.000020), students’ daily pocket money (OR=1.02, C.I=1.007 - 1.033), gender (OR=0.354, C.I= 0.179 - 0.7), knowledge regarding junk food consumption (OR=2.744, C.I=1.366 - 5.511), attitude towards food choice (OR=2.487, C.I=1.288 – 4.803), friend’s encouragement for junk food consumption (OR=0.178, C.I=0.045 – 0.701), and occupation of father (business) (OR=2.867, C.I=1.084 – 7.581) are seen to be significant to the model High versus Low consumption. Students’ daily pocket money (OR=1.012, C.I=1.002 – 1.023), knowledge regarding junk food consumption (OR=2.427, C.I=1.293 – 4.553), restrictive food parenting practice (OR=2.228, C.I=0.945 – 5.253), friend’s encouragement for junk food consumption (OR=0.252, C.I=0.067 – 0.944), recognition of marketing promotion strategy (OR=0.523, C.I=0.295 – 0.928), educational level of mother (lower secondary level) (OR=5.465, C.I=1.069 – 27.952), occupation of father (business) (OR=2.47, C.I=1.056 – 5.777) are seen to be significant to the model Moderate versus Low consumption.&#x0D; Conclusion: Study revealed that more than one-fourth of the sampled students were high consumers of junk foods. Many factors are associated with the consumption of junk foods. Thus, addressing the issue of increasing consumption, developing strategies &amp; conducting different research in this field is the must. Concerned authorities should also pay special attention to this subject matter.

Healthy and nutritious food are being replaced by new commercial food items called Junk Food. These food item are with high calories but with low nutritive values. Excess consumption of junk food is associated with several nutritional problems ranging from underweight to obesity and various Non-communicable diseases. The study was conducted to assess the general junk food consumption habits, pattern and its association with Body Mass Index among adolescents. A descriptive cross sectional design was adopted to collect data among 311 adolescents studying in grade 8 & 9 of selected private school at, Parsa, Nepal using a pretested structured self-administered questionnaire. The obtained data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS 16 version. The result of the study revealed that age range of adolescents was 12-17 years. 37% of the adolescents were in the age group of 15 years. The BMI value was 18.81±2.35 whereas majority 50.5% of the adolescents was having BMI less than normal and were considered underweight. The time of junk food consumption is significantly associated with BMI with (p value 0.02) and amount of money spend on junk food is also associated with BMI with (p value 0.006). Junk food consumption is significantly associated with low BMI among adolescents. Only a limited numbers of adolescents have understood that excess consumption of junk food has negative effects on general health. This study may contribute to provide awareness regarding the consequences of junk food consumption along with setting limits over junk food by parents and teachers to promote healthy dietary habits among adolescents.