Children are getting entangled in a complex society which is undergoing breathtaking changes. Concepts, relationships, lifestyles are metamorphosising to accommodate the new jet-setting age. Food is no exception. Healthy nutritious foods have been replaced by the new food mantra – JUNK FOOD!

It seems to have engulfed every age; every race and the newest entrants are children. (Wafers, colas, pizzas and burgers are suddenly the most important thing). The commonest scenario is a child who returns from school and stick himself in front of the television, faithfully accompanied by a bowl of wafers and a can of cola. Children suddenly seem to have stepped into a world of fast foods and vending machines; totally unaware of the havoc they are creating for themselves.

The years between 6-12 are a time of steady growth; when good nutrition is at a high priority. Children must know that what they eat affects their future growth, attitude and behavior. The vast majority of mothers with school age children are working and laboring with exhausting commutes; upswings in the households; and stress, leading to a situation where parents get to spend limited time with their children. Traditional food skills are not passed on automatically from parent to child. Most people have forgotten that the primary reason for eating is nourishment. In the not so distant past, food was treated with importance because of its life sustaining quality. Enjoying a meal was sharing experience with others. Today family dinners are rare. In many ways, our culture is structured to foster poor eating habits. Television commercials and supermarkets are propagating a wide variety of enticing junk foods, attractively packaged and often tagged with a tempting idea. We should be constructing an environment that protects our children, instead we are building highly seductive environment that is undermining the eating habits of our children.

The tentacles of a junk food environment are virtually inescapable. Studies reveal that as early as the age of 30, arteries could begin to clog and lay the groundwork for future heart attacks. What children eat from puberty has a direct affect on their future risks for infertility, breast cancers etc.

Osteoporosis and hypertension are other diseases that appear to have their earliest roots in childhood when lifelong eating habits are being formed. Children are especially vulnerable. Poor diets can slow growth, decay new teeth, promote obesity and sow the seeds of infirmity and debilitating disease that ultimately lead to incurable disease and death or worse make life insufferable.

Most of the times these junk foods contain colors, those are often inedible which prove to be very harmful for the body. These foods and their colors can affect digestive systems, and the effects of it would emerge after many years. Studies have found that food coloring can cause hyperactivity and lapses of concentration in children. Children suffering from Learning Disabilities are often advised against eating food with artificial coloring. Chocolates, colas, flavored drinks and snack tit bits are full of artificial coloring.

Not surprisingly eating junk food leads to a sense of starvation both physically and mentally, as the feeling of satisfaction and contentment that comes after a wholesome meal is absent. There is simply no substitute for the feeling that descends, when you wake up and find that you are ready to take on the world, which can primarily stems from GOOD HEALTH!

There is no better time than now to build a supportive environment for nurturing our children and endowing them with a legacy of good health.

Source: www.essay2review.com

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