Snacks
Notes: N=9,380. Percentages are unweighted. Figures in the top panel are not conditional on availability in school.
The child food consumption questionnaire asked about the frequency of overall consumption of specific food items during the past week. Children were asked to include foods they ate at home, at school, at restaurants, or anywhere else. We examine the consumption of two unhealthy items - soda and fast food, and six healthy food items – milk, green salad, potatoes 10 , carrots, other vegetables, and fruits. The percentage of children not consuming any soda or fast food during the previous week was 16 and 29 percent, respectively, with modal responses at 1 to 3 times per week (see Appendix Table A1 ). Among the healthy foods, green salad, carrots and potatoes were consumed most infrequently with nearly half of children reporting no consumption during the past week. The modal responses for the other healthy foods were 1 to 3 times during the past week.
Detailed information on junk food availability in schools was collected from the school administrators and from children in the fifth grade. School administrators were asked whether students could purchase 17 individual food and beverage items, either from vending machines, school store, canteen, snack bar or a la carte items from the cafeteria during school hours. From these responses, we constructed an indicator variable of junk food availability in school that equals 1 if the administrator reports that students can purchase food and beverage items containing high sodium and/or sugar, including candy, chocolate, baked foods (e.g. cookies), salty snacks (e.g. potato chips), ice cream or frozen yogurt, or sweetened beverages during school hours, and zero otherwise. 11 Based on these school administrator reports, approximately 61 percent of the children had junk food availability in school. For robustness checks, we also considered two alternative measures of availability. The first is based on whether the modal child at each school reports that foods containing sugar, salty snacks, or sweetened beverages can be purchased at school. Based on this measure, about 75 percent of the children had junk foods available. And the second is based on whether the administrator reports any of the following competitive food outlets operate in the school: vending machines, school stores, canteens, snack bars, and a la carte lines. About 60 percent of the sample had at least one competitive food outlet. 12
4.1. econometric model.
The relationship between junk food availability and children’s BMI in fifth grade can be estimated cross-sectionally using the following linear regression model.
where, BMI iks , denotes fifth grade BMI for child i attending school k located in state s , JF k captures junk food availability in the child’s school, X i and S k are the vectors of individual/family (gender, age, age interacted with gender, race/ethnicity, mother’s education, household income) and school characteristics (private/public, percent minority, enrollment, urbanicity, state/region), respectively, and ε iks is the error term. The child’s baseline BMI (BBMI i ) is included to address potential heterogeneity that can bias OLS estimates such as student demand for junk foods, genetic susceptibility, and sorting. Because junk food availability is collected only in fifth grade, we do not know the length of exposure during prior school years. Therefore, BMI at school entry is the preferred baseline because it is measured prior to any exposure to the school food environment. Finally, since states differ markedly in terms of obesity prevalence in their populations as well as the policy environment geared towards combating obesity, we include state fixed effects (θ s ) to control for state-specific time-invariant unobserved heterogeneity that may be correlated with school food environments and children’s weight.
The parameter of interest in Equation (1) is β 1 . Obtaining an unbiased estimate of β 1 is challenging because the school food environment is not exogenous to the outcomes of interest. Schools that serve high-fat, energy-dense junk foods may differ on many observable and unobservable factors that are correlated with children’s weight and dietary behavior. In particular, the decision to offer junk foods in schools may be influenced by a variety of factors including budgetary pressures, demands of the student population, parental involvement, and state/district policies. These factors could independently influence children’s weight as well. For example, budgetary pressures may induce schools or districts to scale back or eliminate physical education programs, which might increase children’s weight. As a result, coefficient estimates from the ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation of Equation 1 would be biased.
We address the potential endogeneity of junk food availability using instrumental variables. Specifically, we estimate the model in Equations (2.1) and (2.2) using Two-Stage Least Squares.
Equation 2.1 represents the first-stage regression where junk food availability (JF k ) is regressed on the combined school attendance instrument (CS k ), individual (X i ) and school (S k ) characteristics, baseline BMI (BBMI i ), and state fixed effects (θ s ). Equation 2.2 represents the second stage where children’s BMI (or obesity) is regressed on the predicted availability of junk foods from the first stage (ĴF k ) in addition to the common covariates.
We also report results from the reduced form, which regresses BMI or obesity directly on the instrument ( Equation 3 ). These results have the advantage of being unbiased and providing evidence of whether a causal relationship exists in the regression of interest. 13
Our sample consists of a single cohort of 5 th graders attending schools with a variety of grade spans. Given that junk food availability is significantly higher in middle and high schools compared to elementary schools, a potentially useful instrument for junk food availability is whether the 5 th grader attends a combined school (defined as the highest grade is seventh or higher) or whether the 5 th grader is in an elementary school (defined as highest grade is 5 th or 6 th ). Our instrument considers only this dichotomy of school type: elementary versus combined. Over 70 percent of our sample attends elementary schools while the remainder attends combined schools usually with grade spans of K-8, K-12 and 5–8 (see Appendix Table A2 ).
Variation in Grade Span in Fifth Grade
Lowest Grade-Level in School | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Highest Grade-Level in School | Pre-K or Kindergarten | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Total | |
4 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 | Elementary 70.6% |
5 | 40.6 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 45.5 | |
6 | 19.7 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 0.0 | 24.3 | |
7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.3 | Combined 29.4% |
8 | 21.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 3.3 | 0.0 | 25.5 | |
9 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | |
10 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |
11 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |
12 | 3.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 3.3 | |
Total | 85.5 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 6.1 | 0.0 | 100.0 |
Notes: N=9380. “Combined” schools are defined as schools with highest grade equal to 7 or higher.
For combined school attendance to be a valid instrument, it must be the case that the school’s grade span has no direct effect on children’s weight except through the junk food environment. One potential concern is that there may be unobserved factors that are correlated with both the likelihood of combined school attendance as well as BMI. For example, it is well known that states differ markedly in the prevalence of childhood obesity. But, states are also likely to differ in terms of factors that contribute to school grade span such as: (1) the size of the school-age population, (2) its distribution within the state, (3) differences in the educational systems and policies, as well as (4) education budgets. Similarly, school grade span can vary across urban versus rural areas (even within states), with the latter more likely to have combined schools largely because of a smaller school-age population. The inclusion of state and urbanicity dummies in our regressions controls for unobserved differences across states and across rural/urban areas that may be correlated with combined school attendance (or grade span, more generally) and BMI.
Another potential concern with this identification strategy is that variation in grade span exposes children to older peers who may influence obesogenic behaviors. Peers, defined broadly, have been shown to influence a wide range of adolescent behaviors and outcomes. 14 However, of particular relevance to our identification strategy is the literature examining a specific type of peer effect, namely, the effect of exposure to older peers due to school grade span.
Several studies have examined peer effects on academic, social-behavioral and substance use outcomes by leveraging variation in school grade span ( Clark and Folk 2007 ; Clark and Loheac 2007 ; Eisenberg 2004 ; Bedard and Do 2005 ; Cook et al 2008 ). Most studies compare students in the same grade who attend middle versus combined schools or middle versus elementary schools . 15 These studies generally find that 6 th or 7 th graders who attend middle school fare poorly compared to those who attend elementary or combined schools. 16 However, we are not aware of any studies that compare children in the same grade level who attend elementary versus combined schools . The exception is Rickles (2005) , whose findings suggest inconsistent effects of elementary versus combined schools attendance on achievement.
Furthermore, there is very limited evidence on the influence of older peers on food choices. Cullen and Zakeri (2004) compared changes in food consumption of 4 th graders who transitioned to middle school in 5 th grade and gained access to school snack bars to changes in food consumption of 5 th graders who were already in middle school. Fourth graders who transitioned to middle school consumed fewer healthy foods compared with the previous school year, but it is not clear whether this was due to the presence of older peers or the change in school food environment.
Overall, the literature suggests that the presence of older peers may adversely affect academic and social behavioral outcomes, but there is less evidence to support effects on their eating behaviors. Nevertheless, if such an effect exists, the potential bias in our IV estimates due to peer effects is likely to be upward. That is, 5 th graders might emulate older peers who are more likely to consume junk foods in school and would therefore tend to be overweight, independent of the school food environment. In that case, an insignificant finding is unlikely to be undermined.
Identification in our IV models relies on the assumption that, conditional on state and urbanicity dummies, the school’s grade span does not influence BMI except through differences in the availability of junk foods. Districts typically determine the grade span at the time of the schools’ opening based on a number of factors including transportation costs, length of bus ride, desired number of transitions, population size, site availability, preferred school size, and likelihood of parental involvement ( Paglin and Fager 1997 ) rather than children’s health outcomes. Changes in grade span over time are possible, but infrequent and similarly-motivated. For example, in our ECLS-K sample, less than 4 percent of the children who remained in the same school between kindergarten and fifth grade experienced a grade-span change from combined to elementary school or vice-versa. While unlikely, it is nevertheless possible that schools may change grade span in response to children’s physical size. Therefore, below we report results from several tests that support the validity of our instruments. These analyses are based on our preferred specification, which controls for the full set of covariates, including state and urbanicity dummies and baseline BMI.
First, we report first-stage estimates of the effect of our instrument – combined school attendance – on junk food availability in school. The first-stage estimates show that combined school attendance significantly increases the likelihood of junk food availability with an F-statistic on the instrument that exceeds 22 ( Table 2 ).
First Stage Regression Estimates of Junk Food Availability in Fifth Grade
Junk Food Availability | |
---|---|
Combined school attendance | 0.195 |
[0.041] | |
Partial R-square of excluded instruments | 0.02 |
F-statistic on excluded instruments | 22.7; p=0.000 |
Observations | 9380 |
Notes: Figures in brackets are robust standard errors clustered at the school level. Other covariates in the model include male, age (months), male*age, race/ethnicity, kindergarten BMI, mother’s education, income, private school dummy, categories for percent minority in school and school enrollment, and state and urbanicity dummies.
Second, since our instrument leverages across school variation we might be concerned that selection into different schools (or communities) might undermine the validity of our instrument. To test for differential selection into combined versus elementary schools, we regress BMI, obesity, test scores, social-behavioral outcomes, and parental involvement measured in kindergarten on combined school attendance in 5 th grade ( Table 3 ). 17 Because these outcomes are determined prior to exposure to school, these comparisons allow us to test for selection. The results suggest that, conditional on observed characteristics, combined school attendance is uncorrelated with pre-exposure BMI, obesity, test scores, social-behavioral outcomes and parental involvement.
Effect of Attending a Combined School on Kindergarten Outcomes
Log (BMI) (1) | Obese (2) | Reading Score (3) | Math Score (4) | Externalizing BP Score (5) | Internalizing BP Score (6) | Self Control Score (7) | Interpersonal Skills Score (8) | Parent Involvement (9) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Combined school attendance | 0.002 | −0.004 | −0.401 | −0.333 | 0.028 | 0.019 | −0.005 | 0.001 | 0.151 |
[0.003] | [0.010] | [0.376] | [0.310] | [0.023] | [0.021] | [0.027] | [0.026] | [0.364] | |
Observations | 9380 | 9380 | 7910 | 8400 | 9050 | 9000 | 9020 | 9000 | 8250 |
Mean(std dev) of dept var | 16.4(2.2) | 0.12 | 30.1(10.0) | 23.6(9.0) | 1.6(0.6) | 1.5(0.5) | 3.2(0.6) | 3.2(0.6) | 34.4 (11.2) |
Notes: Each estimate represents a separate regression. Other covariates in the models include age, male, age*male, race/ethnicity, kindergarten BMI (not in model in Columns 1 and 2), mother’s education, income, private school dummy, categories for percent minority in school and school enrollment, and state and urbanicity dummies. Robust standard errors clustered at school level are shown in brackets. For reading, math, self control, and interpersonal skills, higher skills indicate better outcomes. For externalizing and internalizing behavior problems, higher scores indicate worse outcomes. Parent involvement is measured as the sum of the number of times/week that the parent engages in 9 activities with the child (e.g. reading books, talk about nature, do science projects, tell stories).
Third, another concern is that combined school attendance might generate peer effects on BMI, obesity, food consumption and physical activity, independent of junk food availability. We test for the presence of peer effects by regressing these outcomes on combined school attendance using only the sample of schools that do not offer junk foods ( Table 4 ). The results do not provide any support for peer effects on BMI, obesity, food consumption or physical activity. 18
Effect of Combined School Attendance on BMI, Obesity and Related Behaviors Without Junk Food Availability in Fifth Grade
Total Consumption | Days per Week of Physical Activity | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Log BMI | Obese | Soda | Fast food | Milk | Green salad | Carrots | Potatoes | Other vegetables | Fruit | ||
Combined school attendance | −0.001 | 0.001 | −0.166 | 0.156 | −0.553 | −0.341 | −0.118 | −0.081 | −0.539 | −0.27 | −0.010 |
[0.007] | [0.015] | [0.368] | [0.230] | [0.436] | [0.178] | [0.302] | [0.152] | [0.353] | [0.371] | [0.131] | |
Observations | 3620 | 3620 | 3620 | 3620 | 3620 | 3620 | 3620 | 3620 | 3620 | 3620 | 3320 |
Notes: Each estimate represents a separate regression. All models control for the full set of covariates. Robust standard errors clustered at school level are shown in brackets.
Overall, the instrument appears to be strongly predictive of junk food availability and there is no evidence that selection or peer effects threaten its validity.
We now turn to our main results, which examine the effects of junk food availability on BMI and other outcomes. We first estimate basic OLS models of BMI and obesity, then augment with state fixed effects and baseline BMI to address omitted variable bias and selection, and finally estimate the IV and reduced form specifications (Section 5.1). In Section 5.2, we examine the sensitivity of our results to alternate measures of junk food availability and various sample restrictions. We also report findings from falsification tests. And finally, in Section 5.3, we describe results from ancillary regressions that explore the potential mechanisms underlying our BMI findings. In particular, we examine in-school and total consumption of selected foods and beverages and the availability of and participation in physical activity.
Our main results focus on whether the availability of junk foods increases BMI and obesity among 5 th graders ( Table 5 ). Columns 1 and 4 in Panel A show the results of basic OLS regressions of log BMI and obesity, respectively, on junk food availability controlling for child, household, and school characteristics. 19 These regressions yield a statistically significant increase in both BMI and obesity when junk food is available, although the point estimates are small. The inclusion of state fixed effects and urbanicity dummies (Panel A, columns 2 and 5) and then baseline BMI measured in kindergarten (Panel A, columns 3 and 6) eliminates the significant coefficients. The fully-specified OLS models have very small, precisely estimated, and statistically insignificant point estimates.
Effects of Junk Food Availability on BMI and Obesity in Fifth Grade
Log BMI | Obese | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (6) | |
Junk food availability | 0.011 | 0.007 | 0.001 | 0.019 | 0.009 | −0.001 |
[0.005] | [0.005] | [0.003] | [0.009] | [0.010] | [0.007] | |
Junk food availability | 0.083 | 0.010 | 0.003 | 0.104 | 0.014 | 0.003 |
[0.064] | [0.029] | [0.020] | [0.114] | [0.060] | [0.046] | |
Combined school attendance | 0.009 | 0.002 | 0.001 | 0.012 | 0.003 | 0.001 |
[0.006] | [0.006] | [0.004] | [0.011] | [0.012] | [0.009] | |
Demographics | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
State & urbanicity dummies | N | Y | Y | N | Y | Y |
Baseline BMI | N | N | Y | N | N | Y |
Notes: N=9,380. Robust standard errors clustered at school level are shown in brackets. Other covariates in the model include male, age (months), male*age, race/ethnicity, kindergarten BMI, mother’s education, income, private school dummy, categories for percent minority in school and school enrollment, and state and urbanicity dummies. First stage results are shown in Table 2 .
However, the coefficients from these OLS models may be biased if junk food availability is related to unobserved determinants of children’s BMI. For example, districts with a large population of students at risk for obesity may adopt more stringent nutritional policies that reduce the availability of junk foods in school. In such situations, OLS regressions may show no significant relationship or even a negative relationship between junk food availability and BMI. OLS estimates might also suffer from attenuation bias due to the presence of measurement error in the junk food availability measures.
To address these issues, we estimate instrumental variables (IV) and reduced form regressions using grade span as the instrument: whether the 5 th grader attends a combined school with older peers. 20 The IV point estimates are relatively larger than the OLS estimates, but less precisely estimated rendering them statistically insignificant ( Table 5 , Panel B). 21 , 22 IV estimates from models that do not control for state and urbanicity dummies and baseline BMI (columns 1 and 4) are much larger than those in our preferred specification (Columns 3 and 6), although they are not statistically significantly different from each other. Even if the IV point estimates in our preferred specification (columns 3 and 6) were significant, they would represent only small increases in BMI and obesity of less than one-third of one percent. Hausman tests that check for the endogeneity of junk food availability by comparing estimates from the fully-specified OLS regression with the IV cannot reject the null hypothesis that both estimates are consistent. Therefore, we also report the reduced form estimates of BMI and obesity regressed directly on our instrument ( Table 5 , Panel C). The coefficients on the instrument are close to zero and very precisely estimated, which further confirm the null findings. Given concerns about unobserved heterogeneity in the OLS specifications and the larger standard errors in the IV specifications, the reduced form estimates are preferred.
We conducted a number of sensitivity analyses to test the robustness of our findings. In this section, we report results from a few key analyses and then turn to falsification tests. 23 These analyses control for the full set of covariates, including state and urbanicity dummies and baseline BMI.
For the sensitivity analyses, we first re-estimate our BMI and obesity regressions with the two alternate measures of junk food availability ( Table 6 ). Both the child-reported measure of junk food availability and the school-administrator reported measure of competitive food outlet show no effect of junk food availability on BMI or obesity. Next, we re-estimate the models with the exclusion of three particular groups that might confound our instrument ( Table 7 ). First, because combined schools are much more likely to be private, our instruments may simply capture variation across public versus private schools students, even though the regressions control for private school attendance. We re-estimate the models on a sample that excludes children who attend private schools ( Table 7 , Panel A) and find no effects on BMI and obesity. 24 Second, even though Section 4.2.2 suggests there are no peer effects on BMI and related behaviors, we test the sensitivity of our results to exclusion of the oldest peers (e.g., grade 9 or higher), but still find no evidence of an effect on BMI and obesity ( Table 7 , Panel B). Finally, children who switch schools for unobservable reasons potentially related to junk food availability may bias our estimates, but estimates from models that exclude children who changed schools between kindergarten and fifth grade confirm no effects ( Table 7 , Panel C). The point estimates from the OLS, IV and reduced form regressions for these sensitivity checks are essentially zero, though less precisely estimated in the IV models. 25
Effects of Alternate Measures of Junk Food Availability on BMI and Obesity in Fifth Grade
Log BMI | Obese | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (6) | |
OLS Estimates | 0.006 | −0.002 | 0.004 | 0.007 | −0.007 | 0.003 |
[0.005] | [0.005] | [0.004] | [0.010] | [0.011] | [0.008] | |
IV Estimates | 0.054 | 0.008 | 0.003 | 0.069 | 0.012 | 0.002 |
[0.037] | [0.025] | [0.017] | [0.070] | [0.051] | [0.039] | |
(school admin) | ||||||
OLS Estimates | 0.014 | 0.008 | 0.005 | 0.025 | 0.015 | 0.009 |
[0.005] | [0.005] | [0.003] | [0.009] | [0.009] | [0.007] | |
IV Estimates | 0.042 | 0.009 | 0.003 | 0.053 | 0.012 | 0.003 |
[0.027] | [0.025] | [0.018] | [0.053] | []0.052 | [0.040] | |
Demographics | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
State & urbanicity dummies | N | Y | Y | N | Y | Y |
Baseline BMI | N | N | Y | N | N | Y |
Notes: N=9,380
Effects of Junk Food Availability on BMI and Obesity in Fifth Grade with Alternate Sample Restrictions
Log BMI | Obese | |
---|---|---|
Junk food availability | 0.003 | 0.003 |
[0.004] | [0.008] | |
Junk food availability | 0.005 | 0.011 |
[0.024] | [0.052] | |
Combined school attendance | 0.001 | 0.002 |
[0.005] | [0.010] | |
Junk food availability | 0.001 | −0.002 |
[0.003] | [0.007] | |
Junk food availability | 0.006 | −0.003 |
[0.023] | [0.053] | |
Combined school attendance | 0.001 | 0.000 |
[0.004] | [0.009] | |
| ||
Junk food availability | 0.001 | −0.004 |
[0.004] | [0.008] | |
Junk food availability | −0.007 | 0.019 |
[0.029] | [0.070] | |
Combined school attendance | −0.001 | 0.003 |
[0.005] | [0.012] |
Notes: All models include the full set of covariates. Robust standard errors clustered at school level are shown in brackets. Hausman tests for consistency of OLS estimates could not be rejected in any case. The tests are not reported in the table.
As falsification tests, we examined whether junk food availability in the fifth grade influenced children’s height in the fifth grade and their pre-exposure BMI. Height should clearly be unrelated. And indeed, the coefficients are essentially zero and insignificant ( Table 8 ). Because BMI and obesity in kindergarten is measured prior to exposure to junk foods in school, any effects would suggest unobserved heterogeneity. The OLS, IV and reduced form point estimates are close to zero (though the IV estimates are less precise) and the reduced form specifications also show no relationship ( Table 9 , Panel A). Results for BMI and obesity measured in first and third grade likewise confirm insignificant effects of junk food availability during fifth grade ( Table 9 , Panels B and C). However, because our data do not contain information on junk food availability prior to 5 th grade, these results are also consistent with the absence of junk foods in earlier grades.
Effect of Junk Food Availability in School on Height in Fifth Grade
Log (5 Grade Height) | |||
---|---|---|---|
(1) | (2) | (3) | |
Junk food availability | 0.000 | 0.001 | 0.000 |
[0.001] | [0.001] | [0.001] | |
Junk food availability | 0.020 | 0.007 | 0.006 |
[0.016] | [0.008] | [0.008] | |
Combined school attendance | 0.002 | 0.001 | 0.001 |
[0.001] | [0.002] | [0.001] | |
Demographics | Y | Y | Y |
State & urbanicity dummies | N | Y | Y |
Baseline BMI | N | N | Y |
Note: N=9,380. Robust standard errors clustered at school level are shown in brackets.
Effects of Junk Food Availability on BMI and Obesity in Kindergarten, First, and Third Grade
Log BMI | Obese | |
---|---|---|
Junk food availability | 0.005 | 0.007 |
[0.003] | [0.008] | |
Junk food availability | 0.005 | −0.019 |
[0.021] | [0.051] | |
Combined school attendance | 0.002 | −0.004 |
[0.003] | [0.010] | |
Junk food availability | 0.002 | −0.003 |
[0.004] | [0.008] | |
Junk food availability | −0.015 | −0.000 |
[0.026] | [0.056] | |
Combined school attendance | −0.004 | −0.000 |
[0.003] | [0.011] | |
Junk food availability | 0.002 | 0.008 |
[0.005] | [0.009] | |
Junk food availability | −0.002 | 0.014 |
[0.029] | [0.063] | |
Combined school attendance | −0.001 | 0.003 |
[0.003] | [0.012] |
Notes: Each estimate represents a separate regression. All models include the full set of covariates. Robust standard errors clustered at school level are shown in brackets.
The consistent lack of significant findings for BMI and obesity raises questions regarding how the energy balance equation is affected by junk food availability. While we cannot measure children’s energy intake and expenditure explicitly with these data, we can examine whether junk food availability influences general food consumption patterns and physical activity. Unlike BMI and obesity, the consumption and physical activity measures are based on parents’ and children’s reports . As a result, they are subject to measurement error and consequently produce noisier estimates particularly for the IV models. Nevertheless, they represent our best opportunity for understanding important mechanisms underlying our null finding. Therefore, for the in-school junk food purchases, total consumption, and physical activity analyses, we focus mainly on the reduced form results (though we provide OLS results for comparison). 26
One potential explanation for our null findings for BMI and obesity may be that availability does not impact overall food consumption. This may happen for several different reasons. First, young children may not purchase significant amounts of junk food in school either due to limited access to such foods or fewer discretionary resources to purchase them. Second, children may not change their total consumption of junk food because junk food purchased in school simply substitutes for junk food brought from home. Or third, children may not change their overall consumption during the day, but simply substitute between junk food consumed in-school and out-of-school.
Unfortunately, we cannot completely separate out these possible explanations because the ECLS-K does not provide us with full information about the daily dietary intake of each child. However, we do have information about in-school purchases of foods with sugar, salty snacks, and sweetened beverages for those children with in-school availability. We also have total (in-school plus out-of-school) consumption of soda, fast food, and a variety of healthy foods for all children in the sample. While not definitive, we can use this information to gain some insight into underlying eating behaviors and lend support for our BMI and obesity findings.
Not surprisingly, our analysis of in-school consumption of junk foods does confirm that children purchase junk food when it is available. 27 The OLS estimates show a significant relationship for purchases of all types of junk food when junk foods are available in schools ( Table 10 , Panel A). And the reduced form estimates show that children in combined schools are between 5 and 9 percentage points more likely to purchase junk foods compared to those in elementary schools Table 10 , Panel B).
Effect of Junk Food Availability on In-School Junk Food Purchases in Fifth Grade
Purchased junk food in school | |||
---|---|---|---|
Bought any sweets | Bought any salty snacks | Bought any soda | |
Explanatory Variable | (1) | (2) | (3) |
Junk food availability | 0.175 | 0.113 | 0.078 |
[0.012] | [0.012] | [0.011] | |
Combined school attendance | 0.051 | 0.066 | 0.092 |
[0.017] | [0.017] | [0.018] |
Notes: N=9380. Each estimate represents a separate regression. Dependent variables in columns (1)–(3) are dichotomous and capture whether any purchase of that item was made in school during the last week. All regressions include the full set of covariates. Robust standard errors clustered at school level are shown in brackets.
To provide a sense of the caloric contribution of these purchases, we multiplied the increase in the probability of purchase from attending a combined school by the median number of times that food was purchased among children who purchased at least once, by the number of the calories per unit. 28 Summing across the three junk food groups yields 50 calories per week (7 calories per day) from in-school junk food purchases. The caloric contribution of in-school purchases is much higher (435 calories per week or 62 calories per day for the median child) among children who purchase these foods (as opposed to merely having them available). But even the 62 calories per day represents less than a quarter (23 percent) of the daily discretionary calorie allowance (267 calories) for a moderately active fifth grader. 29
It is possible that children substitute in-school purchases for snacks brought from home or eaten at home either due to satiation or parental monitoring. With our simple dietary recall measures, we cannot explicitly test the nature of potential substitution. We can, however, examine the total intake of soda and fast food consumed in and out of school. Soda is of particular interest because it is the only item for which children were asked about both their in-school and total consumption separately. Fast food, on the other hand, does not correspond exactly to the in-school snack food consumption categories. We find that junk food availability is not associated with significant increases in children’s total consumption of soda or fast foods ( Table 11 , Columns 1 and 2). 30 The OLS regressions show negative, though generally insignificant, estimates. 31 More importantly, the reduced form estimates confirm that there is no relationship between combined school attendance and total consumption of soda and fast food. The fact that children who consume soda and other junk food in schools show no evidence of an increase in total consumption provides support for the substitution hypothesis. This finding is also consistent with the literature, which indicates that only 27 percent of soda and sweetened drinks consumed in elementary schools are bought at school compared to 67 percent brought from home ( Briefel et al 2009 ).
Effect of Junk Food Availability on Total Consumption of Selected Unhealthy and Healthy Foods in Fifth Grade
Dependent Variable | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unhealthy | Healthy Foods | |||||||
Soda | Fast Foods | Milk | Green salad | Carrots | Potatoes | Other vegetables | Fruits | |
Explanatory Variable | (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (6) | (7) | (8) |
Junk food availability | −0.075 | −0.054 | −0.263 | 0.074 | −0.21 | −0.133 | −0.280 | −0.317 |
[0.189] | [0.120] | [0.220] | [0.105] | [0.133] | [0.084] | [0.156] | [0.202] | |
Combined school attendance | −0.193 | −0.109 | −0.256 | 0.15 | −0.05 | −0.072 | −0.008 | −0.086 |
[0.268] | [0.147] | [0.305] | [0.126] | [0.157] | [0.105] | [0.203] | [0.239] | |
Median of dept var | 2 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
Mean(std dev) of dept var | 6.14(7.58) | 2.9(4.7) | 10.72(9.40) | 2.28(4.20) | 2.97(5.53) | 1.91(3.49) | 5.19(6.36) | 7.82(8.16) |
Notes: N=9380. Each estimate represents a separate regression. Dependent variable captures the number of times the food or beverage item was consumed during the last 7 days. All models include the full set of covariates. Robust standard errors clustered at school level are shown in brackets.
While BMI is a widely-used outcome measure, it does not capture nutritional changes. Just because children are not gaining weight does not mean that their diets are not adversely affected by junk food availability. If children are consuming junk food in lieu of healthy foods, there may still be concerns about their nutrition. Columns 3 through 8 of Table 11 examine whether children with in-school availability of junk foods consume less milk, green salad, carrots, potatoes, other vegetables, and fruit. The OLS results show no significant associations with junk food availability. Moreover, reduced form regressions also show that combined school attendance does not significantly impact total consumption of the healthy foods. 32
The absence of any effects of junk food availability on BMI despite the in-school purchases of junk food also raises questions regarding potential compensatory changes in the availability of and participation in physical activity. For example, revenues from junk food sales may be used to fund playgrounds or pay for physical education instructors. Or it may be that combined schools simply offer more opportunities for physical activity due to their scale and organization relative to elementary schools. Another possibility is that parents or children may increase children’s physical activity to balance junk food intake. If physical activity is greater, then we may find no change in BMI or obesity despite an increase in caloric intake.
OLS and reduced form estimates for school- and parent-reported physical activity measures are reported in Table 12 . OLS estimates show no relationship between junk food availability and minutes per week of physical education at school, minutes per week of recess at school, and parent-reported participation in physical activity (measured as the number of days per week that the child engaged in exercise that causes rapid heart beat for 20 continuous minutes or more). The reduced form regressions show no significant effects of combined school attendance on minutes per week of physical education instruction. Children attending combined school have fewer minutes of recess ( Table 12 , Column 2), but slightly higher days of parent-reported physical activity ( Table 12 , Column 3) though neither finding is statistically significant at.conventional levels. Overall, the regressions do not provide consistent evidence that increased energy expenditure explains the null finding for BMI and obesity.
Effects of Junk Food Availability on Physical Education, Recess and Physical Activity in Fifth Grade
Minutes/Week Physical Education Instruction in School (1) | Minutes/Week Recess in School (2) | Parent-Reported Days/Week of Physical Activity (3) | |
---|---|---|---|
Junk food availability | 0.751 | −0.562 | 0.002 |
[1.761] | [3.220] | [0.050] | |
Combined school attendance | 3.012 | −10.004 | 0.120 |
[2.753] | [5.193] | [0.072] | |
Observations | 9010 | 8940 | 8650 |
Mean(std dev) of dept var | 77.6 (31.3) | 87.5 (57.3) | 3.7 (1.9) |
Notes: Each estimate represents a separate regression. All models include the full set of covariates as well as the baseline (kindergarten) measure of the dependent variable. Robust standard errors clustered at school level are shown in brackets.
Junk food availability is a prominent issue for middle and high schools in the U.S. However, there is also widespread legislation and regulation targeting junk foods even in elementary school ( Trust for American’s Health 2009 ). Young children’s access to junk foods in school is an important concern due to the strong correlation between childhood overweight and obesity in adolescence and adulthood ( Institute of Medicine 2005 ). In this paper, we examined whether junk food availability increased BMI and obesity among a national sample of 5th graders. Those 5th graders who attend a combined school are much more likely to have junk food availability relative to those in elementary school. While estimates from naïve models that only control for a limited set of covariates suggest a positive association between junk foods in school and BMI and obesity, fully-specified OLS models that control for BMI at school entry and state fixed-effects demonstrate no statistically or economically significant relationships among these young children. Likewise, the IV and reduced form models, which are not subject to the potential bias undermining OLS models, confirm the null findings for BMI and obesity. These results are not sensitive to various robustness checks including alternate measures of junk food availability and sample restrictions.
Finally, we provide further support for the null findings by examining in-school and overall food consumption patterns as well as physical activity. The null effects on BMI and obesity cannot be explained entirely by limited access or limited discretionary resources among young children because 5 th graders do purchase junk food when it is available in schools. However, our results suggest that the caloric contribution of in-school purchases is likely to be small. Moreover, we find no evidence of significant changes in the overall frequency of consumption of soda and fast food, which is consistent with children substituting in-school purchases of junk food for that taken from or eaten at home. Alternative explanations such as compensatory changes children’s consumption of healthy foods and in their opportunities for and participation in physical activity do not appear to play a significant role in explaining our null findings for BMI and obesity.
Our findings may have implications in the current economic environment. Half of the states are projecting budget shortfalls that threaten staffing, compensation, extracurricular activities, and policy initiatives such as mandated limits on class size. 33 Many schools subsidize their funding with revenue from the sale of junk foods. In total, elementary schools earn approximately $442 million annually from junk food sales ( Institute of Medicine 2007 ). In light of our findings, certain policy measures, such as outright bans on junk food sales (at least among elementary school children), might appear premature given that they remove a key source of discretionary funds.
While our results are robust, we caution that we could not consider the full range of consequences of junk food availability. Not only are the dietary intake measures in the ECLS-K limited, but we are also not able to examine whether related health outcomes such as diet quality or dental caries are influenced by junk food availability. Also, we are unable to examine the generalizability of our findings to older children who may have greater junk food access and intake both in and outside school. And finally, we could not consider whether exclusive contracts between schools and beverage/snack companies influence students’ food choices in the longer run through product or brand recognition. Additional research is necessary to fully understand the potential consequences before costly legislation is implemented. Such research might also consider the consequences of junk food regulations on school finances and the extent to which these financial consequences could be mitigated by the sale of more nutritious alternatives or through alternative financing mechanisms.
Means by Attendance in Elementary Versus Combined School and by Private/Public
Public School Sample | Private School Sample | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
5 Grade Covariates | Elementary | Combined | Elementary | Combined |
Male | 0.51 | 0.50 | 0.46 | 0.50 |
Child’s race/ethnicity: White | 0.55 | 0.61 | 0.82 | 0.75 |
Black | 0.12 | 0.13 | 0.03 | 0.05 |
Hispanic | 0.20 | 0.15 | 0.08 | 0.12 |
Asian | 0.08 | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.05 |
Other | 0.05 | 0.06 | 0.03 | 0.04 |
Mother’s Education: Less than high school | 0.13 | 0.11 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
High school diploma | 0.34 | 0.37 | 0.20 | 0.19 |
Some college | 0.28 | 0.33 | 0.30 | 0.31 |
Bachelor’s degree or more | 0.25 | 0.19 | 0.50 | 0.49 |
Household Income < $15,000 | 0.13 | 0.14 | 0.01 | 0.02 |
≤ $15,000 Income < $25,000 | 0.14 | 0.13 | 0.03 | 0.03 |
≥ $25,000 Income < $35,000 | 0.14 | 0.15 | 0.05 | 0.07 |
≥ $35,000 Income < $50,000 | 0.17 | 0.20 | 0.12 | 0.12 |
≥ $50,000 Income < $75,000 | 0.17 | 0.18 | 0.26 | 0.23 |
≥ $75,000 | 0.26 | 0.20 | 0.53 | 0.52 |
School enrollment: 0 – 149 students | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.12 | 0.09 |
150 – 299 | 0.11 | 0.17 | 0.53 | 0.43 |
300 – 499 | 0.37 | 0.25 | 0.35 | 0.30 |
500 – 749 | 0.32 | 0.35 | 0.00 | 0.18 |
750 & above | 0.18 | 0.20 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
Minorities in school <10% | 0.26 | 0.40 | 0.52 | 0.49 |
10% to less than 25% | 0.18 | 0.16 | 0.25 | 0.20 |
25% to less than 50% | 0.20 | 0.12 | 0.17 | 0.13 |
50% to less than 75% | 0.12 | 0.04 | 0.03 | 0.04 |
75% or more | 0.26 | 0.28 | 0.03 | 0.13 |
Urbanicity: Central city | 0.34 | 0.24 | 0.43 | 0.54 |
Suburb | 0.40 | 0.27 | 0.30 | 0.30 |
Town or rural | 0.27 | 0.49 | 0.27 | 0.15 |
Region: Northeast | 0.18 | 0.19 | 0.10 | 0.22 |
Midwest | 0.22 | 0.46 | 0.43 | 0.32 |
South | 0.35 | 0.25 | 0.29 | 0.25 |
West | 0.26 | 0.09 | 0.18 | 0.21 |
Observations | 6343 | 1196 | 275 | 1564 |
Notes: N=9,380.
Effect of Grade-Span on Academic and Social-Behavioral Outcomes Among Schools Without Junk Food Availability in Fifth Grade
Externalizing BP Score | Internalizing BP Score | Self-Control/ Interpersonal Skills Score | Reading Score | Math Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Combined school attendance | 0.154** | 0.059 | −0.115* | 0.146 | 0.767 |
[0.044] | [0.037] | [0.050] | [1.102] | [1.187] | |
Observations | 2780 | 2730 | 2670 | 2910 | 3170 |
This research was funded by grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Healthy Eating Research Program, NIH R01 HD057193, the Bing Center for Health Economics at RAND, and the RAND Labor and Population Program. All opinions are those of the authors and do not represent opinions of the funding agencies.
1 Other studies have examined the effects of price reductions, increases in availability, and promotion of low-fat foods in secondary schools on sales and purchases of these foods ( French et al 2004 , 2001 , 1997a , 1997b , Jeffery et al 1994 ) as well as their consumption ( Perry et al 2004 ) within experimental settings and found positive effects.
2 Kubik et al (2003) find that a la carte availability in school is negatively associated with overall intake of fruits and vegetables and positively associated with total and saturated fat intake among 7 th graders attending 16 Minneapolis-St Paul schools. Using the same data, Kubik et al (2005) show that using competitive foods as rewards and incentives is positively associated with BMI.
3 Also, using the ECLS-K, Fernandes (2008) found small positive associations between soda availability in schools and both in-school and overall soda consumption of fifth graders.
4 Their results for the other school policies, pouring rights contracts, and food and beverage advertisements are smaller and less precise.
5 For example, California’s first nutrition policy (SB 677) implemented beverage standards for elementary and middle schools, not high schools.
6 All sample sizes have been rounded to the nearest 10 per the ECLS-K’s restricted-use data agreement.
7 Obesity is defined as BMI greater than the 95 th percentile for age and gender on the Center for Disease Control growth charts.
8 Sweets include candy, ice cream, cookies, brownies or other sweets; salty snack foods include potato chips, corn chips, Cheetos, pretzels, popcorn, crackers or other salty snacks, and sweetened beverages include soda pop, sports drinks or fruit drinks that are not 100 percent juice.
9 To validate the ECLS-K estimates, we examined the Third School Nutrition and Dietary Assessment Study (SNDA-III), which collected 24-hour dietary recall from 2,300 children attending a nationally representative sample of public schools in 2005. Similar to the ECLS-K, eighty percent of elementary school children reported no competitive food purchases. Among children who made a purchase, the median daily caloric intake from these foods was 185 calories. The SNDA estimate is higher than our ECLS-K estimates (62 calories reported in Section 5) because it includes healthy foods purchased from competitive food venues: for example, milk was by far the most popular item purchased from competitive food venues and yogurt also ranked highly.
10 The “potatoes” category excluded French fries, fried potatoes, and potato chips.
11 The questionnaire separately asked about availability of high- and low-fat options for baked foods, salty snacks, and ice cream/frozen yogurt/sherbert. We include both the low- and high-fat options in our measure, however, in sensitivity analyses, we used only the high-fat versions to construct our school-administrator based measure of junk food availability and found results to be similar.
12 We rely mainly on the first measure of junk food availability because it is the most specific with respect to the quality of foods and because school-level policies regarding junk food availability are frequently set by school principals and staff ( Gordon et al 2007a ). We prefer this measure over the simple dichotomy of having any (unregulated) competitive food outlets because the outlet-based measure does not differentiate the type of foods sold (e.g. milk vs. soda). We also prefer it over the child-report because children who do not consume junk foods are less likely to accurately report availability and because children reported only the availability of any sweets, salty snacks, or sweetened beverages, but did not differentiate specific items (e.g. low-fat vs. high-fat).
13 The value of reduced form regressions has been highlighted by Angrist and Krueger (2001) and, more recently, Chernozhukov and Hansen (2008) formally show that the test for instrument irrelevance in the reduced form regression can be viewed as a weak-instrument-robust test of the hypothesis that the coefficient on the endogenous variable in the structural equation is zero.
14 This literature examines peer effects on a wide range of outcomes including substance use ( Lundborg 2006 ; Eisenberg 2004 ; Case and Katz 1991 ; Gaviria and Raphael 2001 ), crime ( Case and Katz 1991 ; Glaeser, Sacerdote, and Scheinkman 1996 ; Regnerus 2002 ), teenage pregnancy ( Crane 1991 ; Evans, Oates and Schwab 1992 ), discipline ( Cook et al 2008 ), academic achievement ( Hanushek et al 2003 ; Cook et al 2008 ), adolescent food choices ( Perry, Kelder, Komro 1993 ; Cullen et al 2001 ; French et al 2004 ) and weight ( Trogdon, Nonnemaker and Pais 2008 ).
15 However, Clark and Loheac (2007) estimate how substance use behavior of students within the same school who are one year older influences adolescent substance use and find a positive relationship.
16 One exception is Eisenberg (2004) who finds that 7 th and 8 th graders who attend schools with older peers are no more likely to use substances relative to those who attend schools with younger peers.
17 We also examined unadjusted differences in children’s individual, family and school characteristics during the 5 th grade (see Appendix Table A3 ). There were slight differences for some of the covariates. However, there was no overall pattern in the socioeconomic factors that would threaten the validity of the IV approach: that is, some differences imply better BMI outcomes for one group and others worse. For example, in our sample, elementary school students are more likely to be Hispanic and Asian while combined school students are more likely to be white. There are no differences in the share that are Black. Similarly, there is no consistent pattern in maternal education. Elementary school students are more likely to have poorly and highly educated mothers (less than high school, more than Bachelors).
18 To check whether these null findings are merely due to lack of power instead of absence of peer effects, we estimated the same models using social-behavioral outcomes and test scores as dependent variables because the literature finds evidence of peer effects on these outcomes. We were able to identify statistically significant peer effects on social-behavioral outcomes (but not test scores), which suggests that lack of power is an unlikely explanation for the finding of null peer effects on BMI and related outcomes.
19 In all models, we estimate robust standard errors clustered at the school level.
20 In alternate analyses, we used continuous measures of the highest and lowest grades in the school as instruments. In these over-identified models, both instruments had a strong positive association with junk food availability (i.e. increases in the highest and lowest grades available at the school were strongly predictive of junk food availability). This approach yielded qualitatively similar results as the exactly-identified models (available upon request).
21 The IV regressions were also estimated without baseline BMI. The point estimates, first-stage F-statistics, and Hausman tests yield similar results (available upon request).
22 A concern with our IV specification estimated via two-stage least-squares is that our first stage models do not account for the dichotomous nature of the treatment variable ( Maddala 1983 ). Estimates from binary treatment effect IV models confirm that the effects of junk food availability on BMI are neither substantive nor significant (available upon request).
23 We also conducted additional sensitivity analyses not reported here. First, given that we do not know the exposure to junk food in previous grades and given concerns that genetic susceptibility may not have a constant proportional effect on BMI at every point in the life cycle, we controlled for 1 st or 3 rd grade BMI instead of BMI in Kindergarten and obtained similar results. Second, inclusion of controls for school meal participation did not change our findings. Third, we used BMI z-scores as the dependent variable to accurately control for age and gender influences on BMI and obtained qualitatively similar results. Fourth, we estimated quantile regressions to test whether the effects of junk food availability varied across the BMI distribution, but found no evidence for heterogeneous effects. Finally, we also re-estimated our BMI and obesity models separately for each gender. The results for junk food availability mirrored those for the full sample. The OLS, IV, and RF models show no significant effects of junk food availability for either boys or girls. Still we may be concerned about differential peer effects, for example, if girls are influenced by older peers’ concerns about body image, which would bias our IV estimates downward. Restricting the sample to those boys and girls attending schools without junk food availability, the coefficients from the reduced form were nearly identical to those based on the full sample of boys and girls, which suggests that peer effects are not an issue even when regressions are gender-specific.
24 Estimates based only on the sample of private schools yield small and statistically insignificant effects of competitive food availability on BMI in both OLS and IV specifications, although the F-statistics for the instrument in the first stage were smaller (Results available upon request).
25 Hausman tests cannot reject the consistency of fully-specified OLS estimates in any of our sensitivity checks.
26 Although not shown, the IV (Wald) estimates are easily calculated by dividing the reduced form estimates in Table 10 – Table 12 by 0.2 (first stage estimate from Table 2 ). The IV coefficients are never significant in part due to the larger standard errors in the regressions of reported eating behaviors and physical activity.
27 We dichotomize the in-school purchase variables and estimate linear probability models since much of the variation in junk food purchases at school occurs on the extensive margin.
28 The median number of times an item is purchased in school among children who purchase at least once is 1.5 times (1–2 times per week). We assume that salty snacks add 140 calories (typical calories from a bag of potato chips), sweets add 200 calories (typically calories from a candy bar), and soda adds 150 calories. Given the limitations of the consumption data in the ECLS-K, we caution the reader to treat these caloric intake calculations as approximations.
29 Discretionary calories are the difference between an individual’s total energy requirement and the energy necessary to meet nutrient requirements. According to Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the discretionary allowance for a 2000 calorie diet is 267 calories. See: http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/html/chapter2.htm#table3 accessed August 22, 2008.
30 The total consumption variables are not dichotomized because there is sufficient variation on the intensive margin.
31 Negative binomial models with a binary treatment variable to account for the count-data distribution of the total consumption variable and the binary nature of junk food availability produced qualitatively similar results. (Results available upon request).
32 Given the limitations of the ECLS-K’s consumption variables, we again examined the SNDA-III data and found no evidence that combined school attendance increases total caloric intake.
33 “Schools expect budget cuts as economy sours: State problems, decline in property values eat away at district funds”. Available at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23116409/ (Accessed February 10, 2009).
Ashlesha Datar, RAND Corporation, 1776 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407, USA, gro.dnar@ratad , Phone: 1-310-393-0411 x7367, Fax: 1-310-260-8161.
Nancy Nicosia, RAND Corporation, 20 Park Plaza, 7th Floor, Suite 720, Boston, MA 02116, USA, gro.dnar@aisocin , Phone: 1-617-338-2059 x4227.
Example 2: supporting arguments: junk food should be banned in schools, example 3: opposing arguments: junk food should not be banned in schools, example 4: opposing arguments: junk food should not be banned in schools.
Title / Started by |
---|
Started in |
Started in |
Started in |
Started in |
Started in |
Started in |
Started in |
Started in |
Started in |
Started in |
Started in |
Started in |
Started in |
Started in |
Started in |
Table of Contents
Junk food has been blamed as a major contributing factor to the high rate of obesity and overweight cases in the U.S. and across the world. In the United States, for instance, 20 percent of the population is categorized as either obese or overweight. Schools are a key area in which dieting habits are addressed. Consequently, the debate on whether or not junk food should be banned in school remains vibrant. This paper evaluates the two sides of the debate and finds that a ban decision is gratuitous and counterproductive.
Given the high number of people who die annually from complications associated with obesity, having an obese rate of 1 in 5 people (20 percent) is alarming. Some of the key arguments raised in support of banning junk food are explained below. First, poor eating habits are often developed at early ages in a child’s development. Such habits ultimately result in major health consequences including obesity. Given that children spend most of their daytime at school, banning junk food can be an effective foundation for children’s healthy habits.
Besides, junk food has high-calorie content and low nutrient value. When school children are allowed to continue buying and consuming junk food from school cafeterias, they believe that it is healthy. They have no information that it is harmful to their health. It is incumbent upon relevant authorities to take charge and ensure that children grow up to become healthy, responsible adults.
However, the arguments raised against the banning of junk food are more convincing. First, key decisions affecting any school are to be determined by school boards, not the state or national government. As school boards are influential and have absolute control over major decisions touching on the welfare of learners, the decision to ban junk food must be left to individual school boards. A collective national decision would be counterproductive and seems to sabotage the authority of school boards.
Besides, the definition of junk food is controversial. Many people consider junk food to be soda, pastries, pizza, potato chips, and other high-sugar, high-fat meals. Other high-fat foods such as cheeseburger are often doubted as junk food. Surprisingly, pizza, cheeseburger, soda, and fried chicken fingers are the food that most school cafeterias and vending machines serve. Before thinking of banning junk food, the government first needs to clarify what junk food is.
In addition, the school system is designed to teach children about the making of choices. Therefore, when the government or some other authority makes an across-the-board decision to ban junk food, the children who form the consumer base are unable to make decisions as expected. Such a move would be a way of taking away children’s ability to choose what they want to eat. The best approach is to teach children about what healthy food is, and allow them to independently choose what food to consume. Teaching healthy choices is the better option. In fact, when teachers emphasize physical exercise, students can remain healthy. It is all about putting the decision-making power in the hands of the consumer, not taking it away.
In addition, junk food sold in vending machines enables schools to raise money. Thus schools are able to raise the money needed in undertaking such activities as the purchase of relevant school supplies and furniture. What is more, most parents allow their children to eat junk food at home. Consequently, banning such food in school vending machines and cafeterias would have undesired effects. From home, children would still carry junk food to school and consume it. This way, the school would not be benefiting financially.
In conclusion, both parents and teachers have a role to play in bringing up a nutrition-conscious and health-conscious child. The most powerful tool to help a child grow up effectively is education. Educating the child would help him to make the right decisions in life. As discussed in this paper, junk food should not be banned in schools as that would be counterproductive and ineffective.
24/7 writing help on your phone
To install StudyMoose App tap and then “Add to Home Screen”
Save to my list
Remove from my list
Junk Food Should Be Banned. (2020, Sep 17). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/junk-food-should-be-banned-essay
"Junk Food Should Be Banned." StudyMoose , 17 Sep 2020, https://studymoose.com/junk-food-should-be-banned-essay
StudyMoose. (2020). Junk Food Should Be Banned . [Online]. Available at: https://studymoose.com/junk-food-should-be-banned-essay [Accessed: 29 Aug. 2024]
"Junk Food Should Be Banned." StudyMoose, Sep 17, 2020. Accessed August 29, 2024. https://studymoose.com/junk-food-should-be-banned-essay
"Junk Food Should Be Banned," StudyMoose , 17-Sep-2020. [Online]. Available: https://studymoose.com/junk-food-should-be-banned-essay. [Accessed: 29-Aug-2024]
StudyMoose. (2020). Junk Food Should Be Banned . [Online]. Available at: https://studymoose.com/junk-food-should-be-banned-essay [Accessed: 29-Aug-2024]
👋 Hi! I’m your smart assistant Amy!
Don’t know where to start? Type your requirements and I’ll connect you to an academic expert within 3 minutes.
Nowadays, the trend of eating junk food is catching up with every teenager. Most teenagers love junk food because it is quickly cooked and delicious. Basically, junk food is sold in grocery stores or restaurants with precooked or preheated ingredients. Recent studies indicate that teenagers are consuming junk food at an alarming rate. Therefore, most junk food advertising is primarily focused on teenagers. However, many teenagers are not aware of the health effects of consuming junk food. The food in the picture is a good example of junk food. Such food looks nice, it tastes well, but is disastrous.
Despite the consumption of junk food is popular, most of the teenagers know totally nothing regarding the health effects associated with the consumption of junk food. In most cases, they have trouble resisting the urge to taste the food when the shelves of grocery stores, commercials, and fast-food restaurants are overfilled with treats. Hence, it is important for a junk food essay to demonstrate the effects of eating junk food among teenagers.
This junk food essay will also look at ways of reducing the harms of junk food to teenagers. One possible way is to reduce the availability of junk food is informing about its effects at schools. It would be very beneficial if the consumption of junk food among teenagers would reduce at school because, typically, students spend most of their time there, interacting with their peers. It is through this interaction that they are swayed by their peers to eat junk food. And schools’ dining places usually have plenty of junk food for sale. During class breaks, teenagers swarm into dining halls to buy snacks or purchase them from vending machines. There are other possible ways to reduce the harms, such as schools offering nutrition class and grocery stores selling teenagers modified “junk food.”
The topic of junk food is very controversial. It elicits debate whenever it is mentioned. The argument against junk food gets most backing from health experts. This is primarily because they have conducted extensive research on the effects of junk food on teenagers; hence, they are justified in opposing the consumption of junk food. Additionally, parents have begun to realize the harms of teenagers’ eating habits; however, they do not have a good method to keep teenagers away from junk food. On the other hand, teenagers love eating junk food and they are largely affected by what their peers’ are doing. Even the images of fat people do not discourage them from eating junk food either at school, at home or at a restaurant.
The issue of junk food is thought-provoking and exciting because the majority of American teenagers consume junk food on a daily basis and seems to be not concerned with the negative health effects (Spurlock 195). Most of the diseases including heart attacks, high blood pressure, cancers, diabetes, and obesity have been closely associated with the consumption of junk food. Out of all these diseases, obesity takes a central role when it comes to the harmful effects of eating junk food among teenagers. Moreover, many teenagers eat junk food, oblivious to its harmful effects.
Now I know that your writers are indeed experts because they know how to carry out research just like my teachers expect me to do. I am thankful to your writers and online agents who always reply to my concerns. Jessica
I used a couple of other services, who only spoiled my grades. EliteWritings.com was like a savior in my life and I gradually improved my reputation. Josh
English writing is definitely not my strongest point and I always make silly mistakes. I surfed the web and found your company. You sent me a good paper with impressive ideas. I really appreciate your help. Anthony
Your writers are really competent and hard working. I’ve purchased a difficult research project and to my surprise – I got excellent! Thanks! Addison
Wonderful writing service and friendly writers who always communicate with customers! I realized that your company can be trusted when you sent me good papers within short deadlines. James
My writer forgot about a part of requirements, but I requested revision and he adjusted the needed part. I got the revised paper shortly and the paper looked just like I was expecting. Lily
I was afraid to buy midterm coursework from you, but I did not know how to deal with my topic in computer sciences. I got 93% for the project and was ecstatic. I will surely use your services more. Logan
I’ve bought some essays from you and you guys are wonderful! Your writers sent me amazing essays! Mia
I did not know about your company and my friend recommended me to order essays from you. Your writer sent me my essays on time and I did not find any mistakes! Abigail
I always forget how to use different citation styles and formatting remains challenging for me. I found out that your company offers cheap formatting services and I sent you the paper. Since that time, my teacher never deducts points for formatting mistakes. Alexander
I am a horrible writer and I would rather pass several tests than work on essays. I found your service and you guys are great! You offered me good discounts and I am pleased to get affordable papers. Cooperation with you is worth it. Zoe
Quick and good service! Olivia
I am so bad in writing that I thought I would fail every class. One of my friends told me to use your services and I could not believe my eyes. Your writers managed to improve my academic records very fast! Thank you. Samantha
I am so lucky! Your essays improved my reputation. Taylor
Many high school students gained massive weight in a short time when they were teenagers. For example, Nibin is a close friend of mine who gained nearly 20 pounds in a span of four weeks when we were still in elementary school. He used to eat pizza and hot dogs after school. He gained that much weight because he ate a lot of junk food, which is against the recommendations of medical experts. Other kids called him “Junk Food Dude” just as the boy in the book “The Adventures of Junk Food Dude.” Undoubtedly, experience with Nibin enabled us to see the devastating health effects associated with the consumption of junk food. The below image clearly demonstrates the effect of the consumption of junk food on teenagers.
There is a huge variety of junk food available in the United States, which makes the issue severe than any other country. What is most important to note is that teenagers take having junk food every day as an eating habit. These junk foods may lead to diseases and health problems. Disturbingly, not many teenagers are aware of the health effects of eating junk food. The information obtained through this study will facilitate the determination of ways of reducing the harms of junk food to teenagers. More so, further research can be conducted from the information obtained.
Junk food is a key issue since its consumption negatively affects teenagers in that they might become obese or suffer from heart-related diseases. Many countries look upon the United States; therefore, it would be prudent for it to take a bold step in educating the teenagers on the dangers of consuming large amounts of junk food. For this reason, it is important to conduct a study on the consumption of junk food among teenagers. Ultimately, the purpose of this junk food essay is to determine ways of reducing the harms of junk food to teenagers.
The results will be presented to parents to persuade them to comprehend the effects and convince that their children were exposing themselves to those negative effects while eating huge amounts of junk food. Some of the parents might not be cognizant of the harmful effects of eating junk food. Therefore, by interacting with them, they will realize the effects of junk food. Hence, they can take measures to ensure that their children do not consume junk food.
Furthermore, the results will be presented to the administrators of schools to the administrative office and hope the report can catch their attention. Through the report, schools would be made aware of the health dangers students were exposing themselves to by consuming junk food and schools’ responsibility of taking care of students’ health, as well as their study. Furthermore, schools will be presented with suggested ways of reducing the harms of junk food to teenagers. If they implement these suggestions, the health hazards associated with junk food will be a gone case in a few months.
Lastly, the results will be presented to junk food companies. Many junk food companies target kids as their future customers, and if they can build brand loyalty now, they will have a customer for life. People have been increasing their attention to living a healthy life. Once a company invents a healthy substitute for junk food, other junk food companies will easily lose the competition. Therefore, it is significant to make the companies aware that producing healthy food is beneficial for teenagers and also the long-term growth of the company.
The fast-food effect is a great concern affecting people around the world. A lot of individuals and companies have created campaigns to notify and educate people. All of them have the same aim - to prevent the consequences of fast food. Since fast food consumption impacts caused campaigns in mass media, communities and schools have been forced to reach various discourse organizations and the genre of these campaigns covers various information.
Nowadays, the United States has the biggest fast food industry than any other country in the world. It also adds to the problem that teens see advertisements with tasty junk food everywhere, they are tempted to try it and think they become cool consuming it. However, an average meal at a fast-food joint has about 1000 to 1500 calories. That is half of the daily calorie intake of a teenager. Teenagers often overeat because of the large portions served. Teens with extra weight are less likely to take part in sports and more likely to transform into couch potatoes. They are at risk of becoming fat, and it has both psychological and health dangers. Overweight teens have to live with teasing at school. This can affect their development and cause low self-esteem. Eating poorly can lead to a vicious cycle of eating more than required, low self-esteem, anti-social behavior, fatigue, and even depression.
" I ordered a cheap essay on this website. Guys, I was so surprised the essay was written better than I thought it'd be. "
Sara J. reviewed EliteWritings on August 15, 2018, via SiteJabber Click to see the original review on an external website.
If they are overweight in adulthood, they can be prone to overweight related diseases, like diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, heart problems, and gout. Frequent consumption of junk food makes teens face the risk of developing insulin resistance. Junk food has no nutrition value and makes such harm to the teenage body as overweight, chronic degenerative diseases, cardiovascular problems, high blood pressure, heart diseases, affection of the oxygen flow to the brain cells and others. It also causes a constant feeling of hunger, fatigue, and tiredness. Teen over-weight usually leads to consequences like depression which has a negative influence on the development and growth, social relationships, performance in school and can sometimes lead to suicide.
The harmful effect and consequences of eating fast food were not clear at the beginning. With time, campaigns have been promoted to make the community aware of these consequences and make people develop a healthier diet. Contrary to it, fast food joints use various forms of marketing to promote their products. Advertising on television, radio, restaurants, websites, and signs as well as social media are all creating advertisements to affect the community about fast food. However, there are a lot of campaigns that try to avert the dangers of consuming junk food. The purpose of such campaigns is to improve knowledge about the dangerous consequences of both direct and long term health diseases because of eating at fast-food restaurants. They provide statistics, reports, nutrition facts, information about growing overweight problems in the United States. These campaigns generally express knowledge to younger adults about the influence of nutrition and healthy lifestyles by concentrating on the hazardous effects of junk food.
The teen years are the time of quick physical and emotional development. The food nutrients are the fuel for this growth, and a nutritious diet is important for good health when you are a teenager. Junk food contains items like sweets, chips, and soda that are high in calories and fat but nutritionally low. Understanding the junk food effect on teens' growth helps to stress the importance of a healthy diet.
Junk food seems to be appealing because of its price, taste, and convenience. Children do not usually understand the consequences of this kind of food because it is so appetizing and they easily become addicted (Fleck). Of course, teenagers can sometimes have a burger or pizza, about once a week. But they should be prompted to this kind of food in smaller portions. Adults have to let them know about other food options and the bad effects of junk food. Once they are aware of what they eat, they may go for healthier food. Parents can only tell them more about what they eat. The idea is to attach eating habits from the very beginning but avoid overdoing it. It is good to keep a combination of both healthy and not healthy snacks at home. Sometimes, teenagers should be allowed to have a soda. The harder they are pushed on, the more they resist. So, it is necessary to find the balance - not too hard, not too lenient.
The greatest problem is that junk food is easy to reach, delicious and not too expensive. It is also has a lot of fat and refined starch, and almost no fiber and is highly processed. Teens eat burgers, French fries, pizzas with soda that contains lots of calories. Fast food restaurants are also great places to have fun with friends.
In order to avert the global problem, all possible informative means should be used to make teenagers realize the harmful effects of junk food. It is not necessary to avoid eating it, but it is of vital importance to avoid the habit of eating such food. The conclusion is that young individuals must eat less of the calorie-dense, nutrient-poor meals served at fast-food joints. Schools and parents can do a lot to make children aware of healthy choices. First of all, fast food joints must strongly change their current marketing practices, that teenagers and children do not receive ongoing encouragement to look for food that will greatly damage their health. Additionally, when young individuals visit, the joints should do more to help them make more healthy choices.
The traditional eating habits of American teenagers are not healthy, mostly because they eat too much junk food. However, sufficient efforts have not been put in place to educate teenagers on the harmful effects of consuming junk food. The number of obese teenagers keeps on increasing at an alarming rate. Also, the number of health-related cases caused by the intake of junk food keeps on increasing every day. Evidently, this shows that most teenagers are either not aware of the harmful effects of junk food or are just ignorant of the consequences. The extensive research needs to be conducted in this area to provide schools, parents, and teenagers themselves with adequate information on the extent of the effect of junk food consumption. Ultimately, such research would yield suggestions on how people can work together to reduce the harms of junk food to teenagers.
Argumentative, book report, environment, evidence-based practice, informative, please notice.
Some text in the modal.
Junk food is a term used to describe highly processed and refined food. It is generally considered less nutritious than natural foods. Junk food has been associated with obesity and causing serious health issues in children, along with the development of diseases such as diabetes. Junk food is not suitable for anyone. It is filled with sugar and other unhealthy ingredients that can cause diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Junk foods are also loaded with sodium, which is dangerous for people suffering from hypertension. Sometimes the calories in a junk food item can be deceiving because they will seem to satisfy hunger; instead, it fills our stomach and makes it harder to stop eating. BYJU’S essay on junk food in schools is a great tool to help the little ones understand the disadvantages of junk food.
Junk food is famous for being inexpensive processed food. The term is often used to insult unhealthy, unbalanced foods that contain high amounts of sugar, fat, and calories. Junk food usually contains added chemicals that can cause an imbalance in our bodies. Junk food also tends to be full of empty calories. Eating junk food regularly leads to weight gain, putting people at a higher risk of developing severe diseases. Now, let us learn from BYJU’S short essay on avoid junk food by understanding the harms caused by eating junk food.
Now, let us understand the demerits of junk food by reading BYJU’S effects of junk food on health essay. Junk food is not suitable for our bodies as it contains a lot of processed sugars, leading to weight gain. It also affects brain function, causing slower reaction times and memory loss. Many people are trying to be more aware of junk food, so they choose healthy alternatives like fruits and vegetables instead of unhealthy treats.
Besides the health issues, junk food can also be addicting. It contains high sugar levels, which can cause diabetes, and it is often filled with preservatives, artificial colours, flavours and other unhealthy additives. Junk food also has a high-calorie content and is usually made with processed ingredients that don’t provide many nutrients.
Junk food is a term that comes to mind when thinking about food that is high in calories and low in nutrients. It is not a good choice as it is something you have to avoid because of its detrimental effects on health. Junk food has been linked to many health issues such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and others. What starts as an innocent distraction from stress could become daily chaos for many people. However, healthy food is rich in nutrients and wholesome, unlike junk food.
Having junk food occasionally is not bad, but consuming it every day is bad for health. Healthy food might taste bland, but it’s good for your health. For more essays, worksheets , and other kids learning activities, visit BYJU’S website.
Why is junk food bad.
Junk food is bad for a number of reasons, such as high levels of salt, sugar and fat. These ingredients make junk food taste good, but they make us unhealthy. Overeating these foods can cause obesity, heart disease, diabetes and other chronic health conditions.
There are many ways to avoid junk food, but the most critical step is knowing your portion sizes. When hungry, stick with whole grains like brown rice and quinoa and fill up on vegetables instead of chips or other high-carb snacks.
Your Mobile number and Email id will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Request OTP on Voice Call
Post My Comment
Register with byju's & watch live videos.
Meet top uk universities from the comfort of your home, here’s your new year gift, one app for all your, study abroad needs, start your journey, track your progress, grow with the community and so much more.
Verification Code
An OTP has been sent to your registered mobile no. Please verify
Thanks for your comment !
Our team will review it before it's shown to our readers.
Food is the main source of energy. It is important to consume healthy food. Any food product that contains a high percentage of saturated fats or trans fats is referred to as Junk food. The term junk itself indicates that it is harmful to our health. To lead a healthy lifestyle it is important to avoid the overconsumption of junk food. However, junk food has gained popularity because we consume it on a regular basis. Here we have provided an essay on junk food for children and school-going students. It will provide a general overview of how to draft an essay on junk food. Continue reading!
Also Read: Essay on Health
Also Read: Importance of Education
Junk food has become a prevalent component of the modern diet. It is not only attracting the young generation but is also getting induced in their daily diet. Habitual consumption of junk food causes serious health issues because it is high in calorie content. Processed food with high content of saturated and trans fats, or high sugar content comes under this category.
Street food places and the majority of food chains and restaurants are serving food in high quantities, thereby reducing the consumption of healthier options. People are now prioritizing taste and neglecting the culinary diversity of traditional food.
Another aspect of the over-consumption of junk food is ordering food on a daily basis due to a busy schedule. Besides that, munching on snacks to satisfy hunger is another bad habit that leads to health issues. Such food products lack nutritional components such as dietary fibres, protein, vitamins, iron, etc.
To conclude, health is an important part of life so, it is important to take care of healthy food habits and avoid the excess consumption of unhealthy or junk food.
Also Read: Tips for cooking while studying abroad
Also Read: Nutrition Courses
Junk food refers to the unhealthy food. Consumption of junk food such as pizzas, burgers, fried items, pastries, etc. has alarming consequences. Its effect is witnessed as the global obesity epidemic because the masses are more inclined towards eating junk food.
Impact of Consuming Junk Food
Food high in salt, sugar, and unhealthy fats contributes to weight gain. It will ultimately cause obesity. Obesity is the key source of other diseases that are difficult to cure. Some of the chronic diseases that occur due to the consumption of junk food are high risk of heart failure, GIT disorders, hypertension, diabetes, etc. So, it is crucial to eliminate or reduce the consumption of unhealthy food and replace it with nutritional food.
Affordability
Another factor that contributes a lot in favour of a high intake of junk food is its affordability. Junk food is more accessible as it is available on the streets at a cheaper price. The price factor affects people who cannot afford healthier options. Thus, people tend to consume junk food that is comparatively more affordable and accessible.
Taste over Nutritional Value
Nowadays, people are more inclined towards enjoying the taste of food. It’s obvious that crispy and spicy food will attract you more as compared to salads and pulses i.e. much healthier options with high nutritional values. Consuming junk food on a regular basis has become common for many, and this has led to homogeneity in their diets. So, it’s important to choose the healthy option over a tastier option to minimize the negative health impact due to junk food.
In conclusion, having junk food occasionally is acceptable when you visit any party or celebrate any occasion. However, its regular consumption will disturb your dietary habits and also hamper your health for the long term.
Also Read: Taking Care of Mental Health while Studying Abroad
Also Read: Essay on Human Rights
Related Articles:
Junk food is processed and refined food products high in calories due to the high percentage of saturated and trans fats. Most restaurants generally serve junk food as they know that such food is popular among the young generation. However, it is not nutritious and also causes serious health issues such as obesity, diabetes, etc.
Following are 10 lines on junk food: Junk food does not possess nutritional value; It causes serious health illness; Junk food is mainly fried food products or packaged foods that have high-calorie content; It lacks dietary fibres; Heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, all such health issues are caused by junk food; Talking in terms of accessibility and affordability, then, such food items are cheaper as compared to healthier options; Excess availability of junk food in the market at cheaper rates is leading to a loss of culinary diversity; Over-consumption of junk food leads to anxiety, depression, and upset stomach; Junk food products are also high in sugar content causing harmful health effects, and Fast food chains and junk food brands are prevalent worldwide, homogenizing diets.
The 10 harmful effects of junk food are listed below; Cardiovascular disease; Obesity; Fatty liver; Hypertension; Diabetes; High cholesterol; Kidney damage; Weight gain; Addictive eating patterns, and Dental problems.
For more information on such interesting topics, visit our essay writing page and follow Leverage Edu .
Hi, I am Kajal, a pharmacy graduate, currently pursuing management and is an experienced content writer. I have 2-years of writing experience in Ed-tech (digital marketing) company. I am passionate towards writing blogs and am on the path of discovering true potential professionally in the field of content marketing. I am engaged in writing creative content for students which is simple yet creative and engaging and leaves an impact on the reader's mind.
Leave a Reply Cancel reply
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Contact no. *
45,000+ students realised their study abroad dream with us. take the first step today..
Resend OTP in
Study abroad.
UK, Canada, US & More
IELTS, GRE, GMAT & More
Scholarship, Loans & Forex
New Zealand
Which academic test are you planning to take.
Not Sure yet
Already booked my exam slot
Within 2 Months
Want to learn about the test
When do you want to start studying abroad.
January 2024
September 2024
How would you describe this article ?
Please rate this article
We would like to hear more.
Have something on your mind?
India's Biggest Virtual University Fair
Why attend .
Don't Miss Out
We use cookies to enhance our website for you. Proceed if you agree to this policy or learn more about it.
Type of paper: Essay
Topic: Nutrition , Social Issues , Eating , Health , Education , Children , Food , Students
Words: 1200
Published: 03/27/2020
ORDER PAPER LIKE THIS
(A Persuasive or Argumentative Essay) I. Introduction of the Problem Junk food (e.g., French fries, soda pop, ice cream, etc.) tastes good and has high calories, but only has little nutritional value. Some, if not most, schools sell junk food to students because they are affordable to students who have small pocket money. On the other hand, other students whose taste buds became accustomed to eating junk food, even though they have the financial means, also find time to eat this kind of snack. In US public schools alone, as children move to higher grade levels, the food they consumed becomes less healthy because only less nutritional values are obtained from consuming a variety of junk food (Finkelstein, Hill and Whitaker). Junk food consumption is a problem that needs solution that is why the USDA advised schools that school-aged children (aged 2 years and over) should have a healthful and balanced, daily dietary nutrition (USDA: Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion). Don’t let the taste of junk food fool you as it will be harmful to your health later in your life. II. Solution Many US school districts nationwide planned to curtail unhealthy menu items of its secondary school students (Racette). So, if you are the parent, teacher, principal, politician, manufacturer, and/or stakeholder, would you be persuaded that junk food should be banned in schools? III. Development of Solution: Why eating junk food is a health issue? Junk food is a health issue in schools because of the little nutritional value that students can obtain from it. In addition, students become prone to health problems such as obesity, high blood pressure, low energy levels, heart diseases, and so on. Studies reveal that students become obese due to their large quantity of junk food consumptions, easiness to buy junk food in schools, persuasiveness of ads about junk food, lack of activity, etc. (Beil). According to Beil, regular consumptions of junk food and other high-processed, high-calorie foods have negative effects on the brains of children. Instead of eating junk food, there are other more affordable yet balanced/nutritional food available in the market today. Moreover, politicians, parents, school heads and other stakeholders should make it a point that the school canteen will not sell any junk food. Students also should not be allowed to eat junk food inside the school; instead, there should be policies, rules and regulations to combat its sale in school (such as use instead of junk-food free vending machines). IV. Refutation The controversy surrounding the banning of junk food in schools is also met with oppositions. There are students who believe that it is up to them whether to eat junk food or not. They have the right to choose which food to eat as long as it will not do them harm such that eating one small pack of junk food a day will not cause students to become obese. Instead, they say that schools should focus more on more pressing and persistent education issues such as school gangs, bullying, etc. On the contrary, some students state categorically that junk food is not good for one’s health. Various research findings point to the fact that junk food will cause more harm than good (Beil; USDA: Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion). Schools, for the most part, decide and act for the wellbeing of its students. Hence, when schools include in its policy the banning of junk food, students should comply. There is really nothing wrong if students in schools will abstain from eating unhealthy food. V. My Personal Stance Personally, I agree with the students who favor the banning of junk food consumption in schools. Apparently, based on evidences, junk food will not do us good. Aside from the awareness drive, schools should constantly be vigilant regarding violations of school rules such as eating junk food. Students caught bringing and eating junk food should be twice warned with a penalty to render civic service. If a particular student run afoul the third time, he/she has to be kicked out from the school. This way, instead of suspending the students, other students will realize how serious schools are in helping them to become not just healthy individuals, but as disciplined persons. Another effort toward solving the health issue on junk food is for schools to provide free nutritional food to students who are undernourished and malnourished. Each school district should include in its budget food for students who have health problems, too. If this is done on a regular basis, schools are way near from becoming not just learning institutions, but more importantly, who also look after the health of its students. VI. Conclusion There is nothing wrong in eating foods. However, when one eats unhealthy food, there will always be adverse repercussions – whether immediately or in the long run. Hence, people in authorities should guard individuals from making unsound decisions and actions. The same holds true in terms of consuming junk food. Junk food, as stated earlier, is not good because it deposits many calories inside the body while only benefitting less from having the required nutrition. Hence, I am strongly in favor of junking junk food in schools. Reality bites! Junk food will remain as junk food. We should never have a second thought banning junk food in schools. If we do not do any action, then when is the right time to do so? I think students should learn the importance of being healthy while they are still young. They are not old enough not to learn and start while they are still young. Being aware that what you eat is what will make you in the end is not far from the truth. Although eating unhealthy food may not affect you instantly or give a bad return immediately, it will. Hence, in order for schools to ban junk food from students, it is good to provide information dissemination, look-out regularly (that is, being vigilant) against violators, and offer free nutritional food. All of these will turn the schools’ objectives of having healthy students – both minds and bodies. It is never late to strive for what is best for students. If we act now, we can see the immediate results. Thus, we have to ban junk food in our schools. Don’t let the taste of junk food fool you.
Beil, Laura. "The Snack-Food Trap." Newsweek 160.19 (2012): 44-47. Web. 18 February 2014. Finkelstein, Daniel, Elaine Hill and Robert Whitaker. "School Food Environments And Policies In US Public Schools." Pediatrics 122.1 (2008): e251-e259. Web. 17 February 2014. Racette, Kellie. "Trimming the Fat." Teacher Magazine 16.1 (2004): 21-25. Web. 18 February 2014. USDA: Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 7 March 2013. USDA: Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. Web. 18 February 2014. <http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/dietaryguidelines.htm>.
Share with friends using:
Removal Request
Finished papers: 1242
This paper is created by writer with
ID 281077246
If you want your paper to be:
Well-researched, fact-checked, and accurate
Original, fresh, based on current data
Eloquently written and immaculately formatted
275 words = 1 page double-spaced
Get your papers done by pros!
Adam smith thesis proposals, advocacy thesis proposals, social class thesis proposals, popularity thesis proposals, campaign thesis proposals, rule thesis proposals, motion thesis proposals, procedure thesis proposals, assumption thesis proposals, panel thesis proposals, judgment thesis proposals, aforementioned argumentative essays, production scheduling and control case study examples, example of essay on suffering of loss, free course work on the cold war, sample course work on decision, example of essay on interpreting market research, good example of media industry al jazeera report, financial management article reviews examples, good essay about product placement, the evolutionary theory of psychopathy essay sample, essay on managing high performance, free evolutionary change and revolutionary change differ critical thinking sample, free how corporations promote inequality in america article review sample, good course work about health care policy, example of research paper on facility physical settings, the 17 indisputable laws of teamwork embrace them and empower your team essays examples, reviews literature review examples, free admission essay about you 039 re applying to harvard business school we can see your resume academic, treatment plan essay examples, the effect of dependence on the internet essay example, good romeo and juliet term paper example, managing high performance essay sample, maximilien robespierre essays, leopoldo galtieri essays, kell essays, institutional theory essays, differing opinions essays, hybridomas essays, enemy soldiers essays, televised violence essays, large part of the essays, effective organization essays.
Password recovery email has been sent to [email protected]
Use your new password to log in
You are not register!
By clicking Register, you agree to our Terms of Service and that you have read our Privacy Policy .
Now you can download documents directly to your device!
Check your email! An email with your password has already been sent to you! Now you can download documents directly to your device.
or Use the QR code to Save this Paper to Your Phone
The sample is NOT original!
Short on a deadline?
Don't waste time. Get help with 11% off using code - GETWOWED
No, thanks! I'm fine with missing my deadline
500+ words essay on junk food.
The term ‘junk food’ itself says a lot about this food. It indicates how it is harmful to our health. Furthermore, junk foods are basically trash which harms our bodies in different ways. They have high levels of cholesterol, sugar, calories and more. We see how nowadays, the younger generation is getting indulging in more and more junk food. This is putting their lives in danger and giving them an unhealthy lifestyle .
Furthermore, junk food does not have a single benefit. It only has ill-effects as they do not contain nutritional value . Parents must teach their kids about the ill-effects of junk food. Moreover, they must provide them with healthy meals at home so they won’t have to go out to eat fast food.
We all know that the fast-food industry is increasing by leaps and bounds these days. People these days are more attracted to junk food because it is appealing. Why is that? People are using manipulative ways to entice people to buy their fast food.
Moreover, junk food is prepared very easily. It takes minimum time to prepare it as it does not have any nutritious ingredients. We see how junk food does not have any special ingredients. It just contains common harmful ones in excess like oil, sugar, and more.
Furthermore, junk food is very reasonable. As it does not require any healthy material, it is not that costly. We see how it is available at very reasonable pricing. It is one of the main reasons why people buy it frequently.
Most importantly, junk food has become very accessible now, more than ever. With the onset of numerous food delivery apps, you can now get junk food with a single click. You have a plethora of options now which will deliver all sorts of junk food right at your doorstep.
Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas
The major characteristic of junk food is that it spikes the energy levels instantly. It does not really benefit your body, just satisfies your taste buds. If we intake junk food regularly, we get moody more often.
Moreover, regular consumption of junk food causes a drop in the concentration levels of a person. This is why we see how kids these days are easily distracted. Moreover, you may also notice how obesity becoming common these days. It is a very chronic disease which is only enhanced by eating junk food.
Further, you may also notice how junk food increases blood pressure and sugar. A person gets more prone to heart diseases due to the fattening products used in it. Similarly, junk food is not easy to digest. This may gradually damage your brain function because it creates a lack of oxygen levels.
Junk food does not only damage the heart but the liver as well. It causes diabetes amongst people from an early age. Moreover, the lack of fibers in junk food equals to a damaged digestive system. This may cause constipation as well. Therefore, we see how junk food companies are fooling people. They are deceiving them into consuming their junk food to increase their sales. Thus, we need to realize this fact as soon as possible. Try to replace junk food with healthy food. Prepare your meals at home instead of ordering outside.
Q.1 Why is junk food getting popular?
A.1 Junk food is getting popular because it is easily accessible now. It is appealing and fast food companies are fooling the public for increasing their sales.
Q.2 State the ill-effects of junk food.
A.2 Junk food causes a lot of chronic diseases like diabetes, cholesterol, heart diseases. It drops your concentration level and messes with your digestive system.
Which class are you in.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Advertisement
Supported by
Concerns about their risks have been swirling for years. Here’s what the science suggests.
By Alice Callahan
For decades, researchers have been trying to answer a hotly contested question: Do the synthetic dyes used to add vibrant colors to foods like certain breakfast cereals, candies, snacks and baked goods cause behavioral issues in children?
A bill before the California Senate , which is expected to come to a vote this week, has reignited the debate. If passed, it would prohibit K-12 public schools in California from offering foods containing six dyes — Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2, Green No. 3, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6 and Red No. 40.
Between 1963 and 1987, the Food and Drug Administration approved nine synthetic dyes to be used in foods in the United States, and the agency maintains that they are safe.
Yet some studies have raised concerns that they may have an effect on some children’s behavior.
In the 1970s, a pediatric allergist from California caught the attention of physicians and parents when he suggested that a diet without artificial food colors, flavors and preservatives could help treat the majority of children with A.D.H.D.
That was an enthusiastic but exaggerated claim, said Dr. L. Eugene Arnold, a professor emeritus of psychiatry and behavioral health at the Ohio State University College of Medicine. Ensuing research from the 1980s “pretty much debunked” the idea that strict elimination diets were helpful for treating A.D.H.D., he said, so many physicians concluded that they were ineffective.
But scientists continued conducting trials on one element of the elimination diets — synthetic food dyes — during the next decades.
We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in .
Want all of The Times? Subscribe .
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
5 Reasons Junk Food Should Be Banned In School: Cons. 1. Junk food leads to obesity. Junk foods usually have a high level of salt, fat, calories, and sugar and offer limited nutritional value. Consumption of unhealthy foods on a regular basis leads to obesity. The amounts of fats and sugar in junk are alarmingly high.
Junk food can also cause health problems, obesity, allergies, and school lunches at schools are also a major reason for why most kids eat junk food in the first place. As a way to overcome these problems, convenience food in schools should be banned. Consuming junk food can lead to a variety of health problems in people.
For years, public health and medical groups have called for schools to ban sales of junk foods as one way to stem the tide. Selling fatty or sugary food and drinks has been banned in Western ...
The presence of junk food in schools has become a pressing concern for educators, parents, and health advocates. The consumption of high-sugar, high-fat, and low-nutrient foods not only affects students' health but also hinders their ability to learn and thrive in the academic environment. In this essay, we will explore the reasons why banning ...
1. Junk foods often contain higher levels of cholesterol. It isn't just sugar and fat consumption that are concerning when children make junk food a regular part of their diet. These items often contain higher levels of unsaturated fat, which means kids can see a boost in their overall cholesterol levels.
All the Yes points: Junk food is unhealthy. Junk Food Can Cause Obesity. Unhealthy Food May Be Bad For Brain Function. Junk Food Can Increase The Risk Of Diabetes. Banning Junk Food In Schools Could Decrease The Frequency Of Heart Disease. Junk Food Can Have Negative Affects On Bone Health.
The content of junk food including carbs, sodium and sugar is very unhealthy for children and it affects their performance at school (Bodeeb, 2011). It takes a lot of energy to digest junk food. As a result, after such snack the child begins to fade and become sluggish. The person feels weakness and the necessity to have a snack again.
The third and final reason for why junk food should be banned in schools is because junk food effects your digestive system. Most fast food, including drinks and sides, are loaded with fibre. When your digestive system breaks down these foods, the carbs are released as glucose (sugar) into your bloodstream. As a result, your blood sugar increases.
Meanwhile, laws strictly curbing school sales of junk food and sweetened drinks may play a role in slowing childhood obesity, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics that analyzed data on 6,300 students in 40 US states and examined several databases of state laws governing food and drinks sold in public school vending machines ...
For years, public health and medical groups have called for schools to ban sales of junk foods as one way to stem the tide. Selling fatty or sugary food and drinks has been banned in Western ...
One of the primary reasons put forth to support the ban on junk food in schools is the adverse impact it has on children's health. Junk food is often packed with excessive calories, unhealthy fats, and added sugars, all of which contribute to weight gain and increase the risk of obesity. Additionally, these foods lack essential nutrients ...
Abstract. Despite limited empirical evidence, there is growing concern that junk food availability in schools has contributed to the childhood obesity epidemic. In this paper, we estimate the effects of junk food availability on BMI, obesity, and related outcomes among a national sample of fifth-graders. Unlike previous studies, we address the ...
One of the main reasons why junk food should be banned in schools is the growing obesity epidemic among children and teenagers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the prevalence of childhood obesity has more than tripled since the 1970s. The easy accessibility of unhealthy food options in school cafeterias plays ...
Consequently, the debate on whether or not junk food should be banned in school remains vibrant. This paper evaluates the two sides of the debate and finds that a ban decision is gratuitous and counterproductive. Given the high number of people who die annually from complications associated with obesity, having an obese rate of 1 in 5 people ...
Eisler believes that parents should provide "reasonable guidance" around junk food, allowing it in moderation—for example, once a week or at birthday parties. She notes that it should never be used as a bribe and that parents should be nonchalant about it, in order to keep treats from being extra tempting.
Interestingly, the author underlined the fact that the effect increased with the duration of the ban: a 5-year ban reduced BMI by 0.3 kg/m². To my knowledge, no study has analyzed the nutritional impacts of in-school junk food and beverage ban in the unprecedented context of developing countries.
Junk food should be banned in schools due to: Risk of diseases increase, effects on the brain functions and cause of obesity. Firstly, junk food should be banned is schools because it puts students' health on risk. Junk food is the main cause of diabetes. It's high in calories but low in nutrition.
Most of the diseases including heart attacks, high blood pressure, cancers, diabetes, and obesity have been closely associated with the consumption of junk food. Out of all these diseases, obesity takes a central role when it comes to the harmful effects of eating junk food among teenagers. Moreover, many teenagers eat junk food, oblivious to ...
Sometimes the calories in a junk food item can be deceiving because they will seem to satisfy hunger; instead, it fills our stomach and makes it harder to stop eating. BYJU'S essay on junk food in schools is a great tool to help the little ones understand the disadvantages of junk food. Junk food is famous for being inexpensive processed food.
Here we have provided an essay on junk food for children and school-going students. It will provide a general overview of how to draft an essay on junk food. Continue reading! Also Read: Essay on Health. Also Read: Importance of Education. Essay on Junk Food in 150 Words. Junk food has become a prevalent component of the modern diet.
English. (A Persuasive or Argumentative Essay) I. Introduction of the Problem. Junk food (e.g., French fries, soda pop, ice cream, etc.) tastes good and has high calories, but only has little nutritional value. Some, if not most, schools sell junk food to students because they are affordable to students who have small pocket money.
A.1 Junk food is getting popular because it is easily accessible now. It is appealing and fast food companies are fooling the public for increasing their sales. Q.2 State the ill-effects of junk food. A.2 Junk food causes a lot of chronic diseases like diabetes, cholesterol, heart diseases.
According to Jacobs and Carson-Dewitt, "One might have thought that choosing what to eat or drink should be an individual decision. Can one learn to make healthy choices if there are no choices, no alternative" (4). The choice a student makes is based on their own judgement, banning junk food inhibits students from learning how their ...
If passed, it would prohibit K-12 public schools in California from offering foods containing six dyes — Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2, Green No. 3, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6 and Red No. 40.