onsidered unhealthy to consume at all.
The term junk food was coined as slang in the public interest in 1972 by Michael Jacobson, Director of the Center for Science, Washington DC. What makes these foods to be called as Junk is that it contains high levels of refined sugar, white flour, trans fat and polyunsaturated fat, salt, and numerous food additives such as monosodium glutamate and tartrazine at the same time it is lacking in proteins, vitamins, essential minerals, fiber, among other healthy attributes.
These foods have little enzyme producing vitamins and minerals and but contain high level of calories in their place. A food that is high in fat, sodium, and sugar and provides high calories yet useless in value is generally known as a junk food which the present generation has adapted it as modern diet.
On the contrary, junk food is easy to carry, purchase and consume . Generally, a modern diet is given a very attractive appearance by adding food additives and colors to enhance flavor, texture and for increasing long shelf life.
Recent variations and trends in food, nutrition, physical activity, overweight and obesity. People’s diets reflect the times and situations in which they live. It is only relatively recent in history that urban– industrial ways of life have evolved, with many or most people living in towns and cities rather than in the countryside.
In much of Asian and African countries most people still live in rural communities, and farmworker-agricultural and urban-industrial ways of life still coexist in most countries. Such patterns change very rapidly as countries become increasingly urbanized and industrialized. The different food systems and diets that are part of these diverse ways of life affecting people’s levels of physical activity, their body composition and physique, their life expectancy, and patterns of disease, including cancer.
With the move to urban–industrial ways of life, populations have become taller and heavier, their life expectancy has increased, and they are usually adequately nourished (although poverty, and even destitution, remains a major problem in most big cities). On the other hand, urban populations are at increased risk of chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and also some cancers.
Human Health And Diet
Health does not simply mean ‘absence of disease’ or ‘physical fitness’. It could be defined as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being. When people are healthy, they are more efficient at work. This increases productivity and brings economic prosperity. Health also increases longevity of people and reduces infant and maternal mortality.
Balanced diet, personal hygiene and regular exercise are very important to maintain good health. Awareness about diseases and their effect on different bodily functions, vaccination (immunization) against infectious diseases, proper disposal of wastes, control of vectors and maintenance of hygienic food and water resources are necessary for achieving good health.
Diseases can be broadly grouped into infectious and non-infectious. Diseases which are easily transmitted from one person to another are called infectious diseases. Infectious diseases are very common and every one of us suffers from these at some time or other. Some of the infectious diseases like AIDS are fatal.
Among non-infectious diseases, cancer is the major cause of death. Drug and alcohol abuse also affect our health adversely. Modern diet has certainly carved up the third World due to globalization. It is an integral part of life in the developed and also the developing world, and coming with it is a massive increase in obesity and associated problems. The key to eating these junk foods is moderation, occasional consumption and preferably in small portions. It is not impossible to win battle with junk foods against healthy foods . However, one must beware entice is so strong that you will be addicted.
In term of the relationship between modern diet and health, the following four key problems have to be addressed:
(I)