Adverse Effects of Junk/Fast Foods

• Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has informed that development of chronic diseases like diabetes, heart diseases & liver diseases are multi-factorial in nature and eating of junk food and/or processed food is one of these factors.
• Various studies indicate that products with high content of fat, sugar or salt may increase the risk of overweight, obesity or certain Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).

Key points:

• According to the study report "India: Health of the Nation's States"-The India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative 2017, the proportion of Chronic Diseases (NCDs) have increased in India from 30.5% in 1990 to 55.4 % in 2016.
• The overall metabolic risk factors/causes attributable to the rise in Chronic Diseases (NCDs) include unhealthy diet as per the study.
• Junk foods are high in calorie but low in nutritional value and lead to an excess metabolic weight leading to obesity.
• An obese individual is prone to life-threatening diseases which are not only limited to cholesterol or diabetes but also can cause stroke and other NCDs.

Junk/Fast Foods:

• Any food that has no or negligible nutritional value can be considered as junk foods.
• Most of the fast foods, including candy, bakery products, burgers and sausages, salty and oily snacks or soft drinks can be categorized as junk food. They have a high calorie content, salts and fats.
• The more we consume these, the less is the intake of essential nutrients and vitamins in the body.
• Consumption of junk food can lead to a lot of health problems.

Harmful Effects of Junk Food:

• It can cause memory and learning problems
• Increases the risk of dementia
• Lessens its ability to control appetite
• It can cause chemical changes that can lead to depression
• It makes you impatient and can cause uncontrollable cravings
• It causes deficiency of essential nutrients and vitamins required for the proper growth and development

Initiatives and regulations to curb the consumption of junk foods:

• Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has informed that a nation-wide media campaign titled 'Aj Se Thoda Kam', to encourage consumers to make dietary modifications by gradually reducing the consumption of fat, sugar and salt has been launched.
• A series of short videos (with subtitles in 12 languages) have been created for the same.
• The campaign is supported with flyers, banners, audio clips and an ‘Eat Right India’ website with useful inputs on gradual reduction in consumption of fat, salt and sugar.
• ICMR-NIN (National Institute of Nutrition) along with FSSAI has recommended guidelines for High Fat, Salt, Sugars (HFSS) Food Labels on all Ready to Eat Foods so that consumption of these foods is moderated.
• The national Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) supports awareness generation activities to be undertaken by the States.