Junk Food Facts: Not Always Easy to Swallow
MANILA, Philippines - Digesting junk food facts can take a strong stomach. Here are a few facts to chew on before you crack open another can of soda:
What’s in some of that junk food?
• One teaspoon of sugar is extracted from a stalk of sugarcane one meter in length.
• A can of soda contains 10 teaspoons of sugar.
• The metal in the can of soda costs more than the ingredients (mainly water with additives, refined sugar, and caffeine).
• A king-sized order of fries packs 590 calories and 30 grams of fat.
• A super-sized order of fries contains 610 calories and 29 grams of fat.
• A king-sized meal (burger with cheese, large fries, and large drink) contains 1,800 calories (mostly derived from fat and refined sugar). To burn those calories would take nearly six hours of cycling (at 20 miles per hour).
• Artificial ingredients can contain an alarming variety of chemicals. For instance, artificial strawberry flavor can contain about 50 chemicals … and no strawberries at all!
Junk food advertising
• The food industry spends over $33 billion per year in the US alone to advertise food products that could be classified as junk food.
• The majority of food advertising during children’s television programming is for sweetened cereals, soft drinks, candy, processed snacks, and fast foods.
• The average American child sees around 20,000 ads a year for junk food.
• Teenagers drink an average of 760 cans of soda per year (with boys drinking about 25 percent more than girls).
• The average person of any age drinks over 500 cans of soft drinks per year.
• Nearly 20 percent of children under two years of age are given soft drinks every day in America.
• The average person today consumes more sugar in two weeks than a person a century ago would have eaten in a whole year. That’s a (junk food) fact!
Harmful effects of junk food
• The regular consumption of junk food is the leading factor in obesity and excess weight.
• Obesity is second only to smoking as a cause of death in America.
• 46 percent of Canadian adults are either overweight or obese, with obesity in children increasing threefold over the past two decades.
• Consumption of soft drinks containing sugar has been linked to weight gain and an increased risk for development of Type 2 diabetes.
• Studies have revealed that obese people have twice the rate of chronic health problems as people of normal weight. This includes 100-percent greater chance of developing Type 2 diabetes, 50-percent increased likelihood of developing heart disease. Obese men are nearly 90 percent more likely to get colon cancer.
• Junk food diet is a major cause of heart diseases.
• High cholesterol resulting from junk food puts undue strain on the liver, causing long-term damage to this essential organ.
• Research has suggested that diets high in fat may also impair essential brain functions, like concentration and memory.
The junk food facts about soft drinks alone are alarming. There is compelling evidence that regular consumption of soft drinks leads to:
• Increased rates of bone fracture.
• Increased risk for osteoporosis.
• Increased risk of weight gain and obesity.
• Increased risk for Type 2 diabetes.
• Increased risk for kidney stones.
• Increased rate of tooth decay and other dental problems.
Junk food facts are numerous, and the negative effect of junk food on health and well-being is undeniable.
— Source: discover-yoga-online.com.
What’s in some of that junk food?
• One teaspoon of sugar is extracted from a stalk of sugarcane one meter in length.
• A can of soda contains 10 teaspoons of sugar.
• The metal in the can of soda costs more than the ingredients (mainly water with additives, refined sugar, and caffeine).
• A king-sized order of fries packs 590 calories and 30 grams of fat.
• A super-sized order of fries contains 610 calories and 29 grams of fat.
• A king-sized meal (burger with cheese, large fries, and large drink) contains 1,800 calories (mostly derived from fat and refined sugar). To burn those calories would take nearly six hours of cycling (at 20 miles per hour).
• Artificial ingredients can contain an alarming variety of chemicals. For instance, artificial strawberry flavor can contain about 50 chemicals … and no strawberries at all!
Junk food advertising
• The food industry spends over $33 billion per year in the US alone to advertise food products that could be classified as junk food.
• The majority of food advertising during children’s television programming is for sweetened cereals, soft drinks, candy, processed snacks, and fast foods.
• The average American child sees around 20,000 ads a year for junk food.
• Teenagers drink an average of 760 cans of soda per year (with boys drinking about 25 percent more than girls).
• The average person of any age drinks over 500 cans of soft drinks per year.
• Nearly 20 percent of children under two years of age are given soft drinks every day in America.
• The average person today consumes more sugar in two weeks than a person a century ago would have eaten in a whole year. That’s a (junk food) fact!
Harmful effects of junk food
• The regular consumption of junk food is the leading factor in obesity and excess weight.
• Obesity is second only to smoking as a cause of death in America.
• 46 percent of Canadian adults are either overweight or obese, with obesity in children increasing threefold over the past two decades.
• Consumption of soft drinks containing sugar has been linked to weight gain and an increased risk for development of Type 2 diabetes.
• Studies have revealed that obese people have twice the rate of chronic health problems as people of normal weight. This includes 100-percent greater chance of developing Type 2 diabetes, 50-percent increased likelihood of developing heart disease. Obese men are nearly 90 percent more likely to get colon cancer.
• Junk food diet is a major cause of heart diseases.
• High cholesterol resulting from junk food puts undue strain on the liver, causing long-term damage to this essential organ.
• Research has suggested that diets high in fat may also impair essential brain functions, like concentration and memory.
The junk food facts about soft drinks alone are alarming. There is compelling evidence that regular consumption of soft drinks leads to:
• Increased rates of bone fracture.
• Increased risk for osteoporosis.
• Increased risk of weight gain and obesity.
• Increased risk for Type 2 diabetes.
• Increased risk for kidney stones.
• Increased rate of tooth decay and other dental problems.
Junk food facts are numerous, and the negative effect of junk food on health and well-being is undeniable.
— Source: discover-yoga-online.com.