isjunkfoodthenewtobaccomain
31 Mar 2010

Is junk food the new tobacco?

1 mins to read
While the health risks of smoking are well understood, we are only now beginning to understand the social and physical risks associated with being overweight. And because being overweight may be caused by eating too much junk food, there are some interesting parallels between the two.


Just as we once lived in a culture that thought smoking was “cool”, our society tends to make it easy to over-indulge, and be inactive. Our environment makes it hard to eat well and be active, because food (especially junk food) is cheap and plentiful, and movement has been engineered out of daily life. Yet being overweight is associated with a greater risk of developing lifestyle diseases, in a similar way that smoking is linked with a number of diseases.

This brings us to the debate of who is to blame for being overweight. Are weight problems a private issue involving personal responsibility, or is it the fault of the junk food restaurants and manufacturers who promote their products? The argument that nicotine is addictive removed smokers from responsibility for their actions. But what if junk food is proven to be an addictive substance?

To find out more about research on the addictive qualities of junk foods, click here.

What can be learnt from the fight against tobacco? Health authorities eventually stopped focusing on individuals and tried to change the world that smokers live in. For example, by preventing cigarette advertising and sponsorship, increasing the price of cigarettes, banning smoking in public places and educating others about the dangers of second hand smoke, it became harder to be a smoker. In relation to weight, maybe we need to make it a harder world to be overweight in. This could include a ban on advertising junk foods, and a tax that makes junk food more expensive.

Ultimately, most foods are not harmful in moderation, whereas cigarettes are. But it does raise some interesting questions.

Is being overweight all about personal responsibility? Do you think junk food is addictive? Is it too easy to be overweight in our modern world?



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