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Introduction

The society is experiencing a lot of adjustments which have actually imparted negatively on the health perspectives of many people. As compared to the traditional settings where a woman could simply prepare meals for the family the 21st century is the opposite of the whole setup. Consumption of the right foods is no longer a consideration in the present generation, the sole purpose for them is to consume that which is sweet and appealing to the eye oblivious of the consequences. Junk foods encompass a high degree of addiction which makes them to be continually consumed at any specific time (Baines & Rashid 2013). A research conducted on rats to analyze the addiction components in junk foods show that the foods are highly addictive. Research has also been conducted on human beings to clearly depict this concept of addiction on foods. The results are surprising since just like rats humans also have been found to be addictive to some foods which contain sugary and fatty components.

Historical review

Restaurants have been around for a couple of years now, however in the past these food chains used to cater for travelers and package foods for those individuals who had a reason to be away from home for a given duration of time. As far as the ancient times the taverns served foods for those people who were explicitly travelling. This trend has continued until recently, houses were meant for places where people gathered to have beverages in the 17th century; the idea of eating for fun did not crop up until the 18th century. This was later changed by such restaurants as the white castle and the McDonalds who brought out the systems of fast foods into the society. It's hard to imagine fast food without drive-through windows. Drive-through existed in the 1930s, and many drive-in restaurants had some form of drive-up window. However, the speaker systems commonly used to place drive-through orders didn't hit the scene until the 1950s. The double drive-through, used by many busy fast-food restaurants, debuted in the 1980s.

Literature review

Feeding habits have always been transforming over time in the world. Those habits which were in the 19th century are totally different from the 21st century feeding habits. However, the 21st century feeding habits have raised eyebrows on the way they impact negatively to the health conditions of the people. Technological advancement have stimulated advancement in production and processing of foodstuffs which unfortunately have turned out to be unhealthy for consumption. A study conducted in a district school in North Carolina shows that children are more conversant with the names of junk foods than they are with the other healthy foods in the market like vegetables. Approximately 65% prefer junk foods as their meals while 15% of them preferred vegetables and other healthy meals (Andrew 2006). This is an illustration that the society is trudging on dangerous grounds. It is high time that steps were taken to reverse the situation otherwise more lives will be lost to such illness as diabetes, hypertension and brain damage among other related illness.

Fighting Junk Foods

This is never going to be an easy fight since junk foods have already made an impact in the society. Some of the factors that have improved junk food use include: cost, these foods are cheaper as compared to the nutritional counterparts, readily available in the market, easy to cook or already prepared and the taste and added ingredients which bring out the addiction aspects. Some of the strategies to adopt in fighting the prevalence of the junk foods in the society are analyzed below:-

Expansion of nutrition education

Education will always remain the main key to change. It is very important to start from the early stages to train the children that junk foods are not ideal for health. This will instill some degree of concern in the younger generations since it will be driven by the bestowed knowledge. Also changing the norms that school cafeteria should be stocked with junk foods will obviously be thwarted by the same education. Learners will train to incorporate their meals with more healthy foods like milk and vegetables.

Government involvement

The cost difference exhibited by the two types of foods can easily be rectified if the government comes into the question. The government has a sole function of ensuring that its citizens are safe and healthy. There is no need for the government to construct huge hospitals and allocate immense budgets to the health sector if it does not take permanent measures to ensure that diseases are controlled. By lowering taxes on fresh agricultural produces, the government will encourage higher consumption of such products; this is because they will be affordable to a common citizen. Other Measures the government can take include: controlling the number of fast food sellers in the country, increasing taxes on junk foods and making sure that all food processing companies comply with the set regulations and reduce the sugar and fat content in their products (SAGE Publications 2013).

Marketing and passing the message out

The media has always played a major role in the society, if used positively the media can provide a framework which easily controls the happenings in the society. Celebrities also on the other hand influence their fans to a high degree on what they eat, wear of do. Thus, sensitizing these groups to manipulate the society will achieve adequate results which will see to diminish the use of junk foods in the world. It will be a collaborative effort which needs to encompass all the stakeholders in the marketing sectors of the world (Tracey, 2014). Just like advertisement of a new product in the market, health complications brought about by junk foods should be made out in the public and people discouraged from consuming such foods.

Compliance with the passed bills on healthy foods

The world Health Organization and the World Food Organization in conjunction with the national governments in the world have developed bills that encourage healthy eating. This means that those institutions who do not abide as per the regulations will obviously be punished for their mistakes and charged under the court of law. These measures are being made to control the need to incur huge costs on medication while the problem can be thwarted from its roots. Parents are also encouraged to make sure that they feed their young ones on the recommended diets to combat early addiction problems. Apart from the addiction it will be healthy and physically fit to bring up children who are complete.

Conclusion

The fight against junk foods will definitely prove hard since these foods have a number of advantages attached to them as compared to the more nutritional foods out in the market. However, as much as they hold given advantages they impact negatively on the health of the consumers which thwarts the positivity they may hold (True Activist 2012). There will be no essence of consuming a cheap food which will in the long run degrade the consumer. Thus, all the stakeholders in the food industry should skew their resources to avoid the production of junk foods instead concentrate on the production and processing of more nutritional foods.

References

Andrew F. S. (2006). Fast Food and Junk Food: An Encyclopedia of What We Love To Eat

Baines, A. & Rashid, M.A (2013) Junk Food and Heart Disease: The Missing Tooth. Journal of

the Royal Science of Medicine, 2013; 106(12): 472 DOI

SAGE Publications (2013, December 2). Junk Food, Poor Oral Health Increase Risk of

Premature Heart Disease, Science-Daily. Retrieved From www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131202105301.htm

Tracey Roizman, D.C (2014). Reasons Eating Junk Food Is Not Good.

True Activist, (2012). Why You Should Avoid Fast Food At All Costs University of

California Santa Barbara: Fast Food Causes Depression, Studies Say

U.S Department of Agriculture: When Eating Out, Make Better Choices