Argumentative Essay : Junk Food #Final Draft

Junk food is being blamed for causing many undesirable problems to children. It is referred to any food that is low nutritional value such as instant noodles, potato chips and chocolate bars. Takeaway foods, pre-packaging meals and sugary snack food are also included as junk food (Tran 2005). Statistic shows that most of the foods consumed at home by 12-14 years old Australian Children consist a lot of fat and sugar more than recommended intake (Australian Nutrition Journal 2004).In response to the unwanted problems caused by the consumption of junk food, I strongly believe that the sale of junk food should be banned.

The first reason why junk food should be banned is because it causes behavioral problems in children (Caputo 2005). Most of them contain chemical additives to enhance flavor and colour and to increase shelf life. Furthermore, junk food has a lot of flavor as it is typically high in fat, salt, or sugar and commonly containing synthetic flavor enhancer (Smith 2005). These additives have been shown to cause the behavioral problems such as hyperactivity and pour concentration. Based on a research, it is proven that junk foods are often loaded with chemical additives which can trigger behavioral problems (Caputo 2005).

Secondly, junk food is to be said as the major contributor to litter problems. The fast food packaging causes litter problems which is a safety and health hazard, increases cleaning costs and reflects bad image to our communities (Smith 2005). Cans, crisp packets, cartons and plastic container are among of them and are everywhere (Green 2005). By reducing the sale of junk foods, litter problem in schools can be redressed (Smith 2005) as many junk foods are sold in school canteen. As a result of the reduction, the school grounds man doesn’t have to spend so long cleaning and has more time to spend on maintenance projects that benefit the school (Green 2005).

Lastly, junk foods need to be banned because they are unhealthy and junk food does not contain any nutritional value (Health Foundation 2005). The nutritional value of food eaten by Australian children has been falling progressively over the past 30 years and this can be linked directly to the increased availability and consumption of junk food (Tran 2005). Examples of the junk food that is low in nutritional value are biscuits, cookies, chips, confectionery, hamburgers, instant noodles and soft drinks (Health Foundation 2005). These unhealthy diets can cause further problems to children that are contributing to youth weight gain and childhood obesity (Tran 2005).

As a conclusion, the consumption of junk foods by children has many side effects and has to be reduced. These unhealthy diets causes’ health and behavioral problems to children as well as causes litter problems to community. The blame is frequently directed at junk food. Therefore, the sale of junk food should be banned.