Junk food usually refers to the food that is discerned to be unhealthy with low nutritional value. (Smith 2005)These include takeaway foods, pre-packaged meals and sugary snack foods. Recently junk food is accused to be the main culprit of childhood obesity since junk food can be obtained easily in the school canteen. In my opinion, the sale of junk food in canteen should be confined as junk food poses health and behavior problem to student and litter problem to the school.
First of all, consumption of junk food by children brings grave effects on the children health. According to research conducted by Health Foundation (2005), junk food such as biscuit, chips, confectionery, hamburgers, instant noodles and soft drinks have low nutritional value. Junk food is usually high in fat, sugar, salt and commonly contains synthetic flavor enhancers. This cogent argument is supported by Tran (2005) who said that product like potato and chocolate raise the intake of calories by the youth and this lead to youth weight gain. Survey conducted by Australian Nutrition Journal (2004) shows that more than 50% of Australian children are consuming sugar more than recommended intake. Hence consumption of junk food is likely to bring about child obesity which may lead to heart disease, osteoarthritis and some cancers.
Besides, behavior and attitude of children and teenager are affected when they consume junk food. Chemical additives are added into junk food to enrich the flavor and make the junk food lasting longer. These detrimental additives have been proved to triggers behavioral problem in children, such as hyperactivity and poor concentration. (Smith 2005)Research shows that decrease in proportion of junk food in children meal can improve their behavior. In the website The Food Show, Green (2005) said that prohibiting the sale of junk food in canteen are believed to increase the learning potential of student where teachers observe that student became calmer in the class.
Moreover, litter problem in school can be reduced by banning the sales of junk food in school canteen. As we know, litters threaten the safety and health of student. Packaging of junk food such as cans, crisp packets, cartons and plastic containers brings serious litter problem in school. School that banned the sales of junk food faces less serious litter problem. Reduction in the amount of litter enables the groundsman to have more time for the maintenance of beneficial school project rather than cleaning the surrounding. (Green 2005)
In short, the banning of sales of junk food in canteen is a boon to both students and school. It is true that banning of sales of junk food in canteen causes the profit earned by school to decline. Statistic by School News (2005) reveals that canteen profit at Cook High School drops after the canteen switch to sell healthy food from junk food. However school is a place to educate the youth. Therefore government should necessitate the banning of sales of junk in school by providing financial support to school so that the canteen can become a place to teach the student to eat well.
First of all, consumption of junk food by children brings grave effects on the children health. According to research conducted by Health Foundation (2005), junk food such as biscuit, chips, confectionery, hamburgers, instant noodles and soft drinks have low nutritional value. Junk food is usually high in fat, sugar, salt and commonly contains synthetic flavor enhancers. This cogent argument is supported by Tran (2005) who said that product like potato and chocolate raise the intake of calories by the youth and this lead to youth weight gain. Survey conducted by Australian Nutrition Journal (2004) shows that more than 50% of Australian children are consuming sugar more than recommended intake. Hence consumption of junk food is likely to bring about child obesity which may lead to heart disease, osteoarthritis and some cancers.
Besides, behavior and attitude of children and teenager are affected when they consume junk food. Chemical additives are added into junk food to enrich the flavor and make the junk food lasting longer. These detrimental additives have been proved to triggers behavioral problem in children, such as hyperactivity and poor concentration. (Smith 2005)Research shows that decrease in proportion of junk food in children meal can improve their behavior. In the website The Food Show, Green (2005) said that prohibiting the sale of junk food in canteen are believed to increase the learning potential of student where teachers observe that student became calmer in the class.
Moreover, litter problem in school can be reduced by banning the sales of junk food in school canteen. As we know, litters threaten the safety and health of student. Packaging of junk food such as cans, crisp packets, cartons and plastic containers brings serious litter problem in school. School that banned the sales of junk food faces less serious litter problem. Reduction in the amount of litter enables the groundsman to have more time for the maintenance of beneficial school project rather than cleaning the surrounding. (Green 2005)
In short, the banning of sales of junk food in canteen is a boon to both students and school. It is true that banning of sales of junk food in canteen causes the profit earned by school to decline. Statistic by School News (2005) reveals that canteen profit at Cook High School drops after the canteen switch to sell healthy food from junk food. However school is a place to educate the youth. Therefore government should necessitate the banning of sales of junk in school by providing financial support to school so that the canteen can become a place to teach the student to eat well.
