End dependence on fast foods
Maintaining good health has been a serious concern in Kashmir Valley. Quite often we hear about various studies and news reports that life threatening ailments are consuming the people here.
These life threatening diseases not only are increasing in numbers every year but the treatments and other costs related to these diseases are also increasing putting an additional burden on the people here.
Since the problem is becoming all the more complex, people especially the younger generation is falling prey to the diseases that are threating the healthcare in the UT.
Over the recent years the dietary habits among the younger population have undergone a drastic transformation as people here in Kashmir have always been fast to adapt to new trends, often without fully considering their consequences.
This adaptability, though beneficial in some ways, has also led us to abandon our traditional, nutritious diet and adopt unhealthy, processed junk food. This shift is contributing to a rising health crisis, particularly among children and young adults.
The situation is getting worse as most of the families prefer their young children consuming fast food as in most of the cases parent are too busy with their work schedule and they find little time to devote to the health concerns of their children.
This trend has in most of the cases led the younger generation getting addicted to fast food and their tastes too have got in sync with the new taste.
Junk food, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), refers to foods that are high in calories, fats, sugars, and salt while lacking essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and fibres. These foods, including cakes, chips, pizzas, fried snacks, candies, and soft drinks, are often highly processed and designed to be addictive. While they provide immediate pleasure, their long-term impact on health is alarming.
Ironically, junk food is not just unhealthy but it is engineered to be addictive. Scientific research has shown that consuming junk food triggers the brain’s reward system, releasing dopamine, a chemical associated with pleasure and motivation.
This response is similar to what happens when a person consumes addictive substances like alcohol or drugs. In fact, studies have found that eating junk food produces a pleasure sensation in the brain similar to that of abusive substances. This addiction is primarily driven by processed sugars such as fructose and sucrose, unhealthy fats, and artificial additives.
What we are witnessing is that consumption of junk food is leading to short and long-term effects on health. Short-Term effects include increased stress levels, fatigue and low energy level, besides, difficulty in sleeping and concentrating, mood swings and depression, tooth decay and poor oral health.
The long-term effects include Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases, obesity and metabolic disorders, weak bones and osteoporosis, increased risk of certain cancers, depression and eating disorders
Presently, the young population is also getting into the habit of losing their concentration and not being able to focus on studies and learning processes. This all is being analysed by experts as one of the key outcomes of taking chemical laden foods that have become the order of the day in today’s world.
What is needed as of now is that parents as well as educators need to put in huge efforts in making the younger population aware about their dependence of fast food and how its consumption is ruining their health.
