“The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food” Essay Sample

Our upbringing and backgrounds dictate our choices to a bigger picture than we expect. Our culture and religious influences tell us, which foods are acceptable and the ones that are not, or even what foods we would eat traditionally on holidays. Throughout our lifetime you will constantly be faced with making healthy decision. If you eat poorly, drink too much and not exercise regularly an individual’s values and attitude towards health have to affect their own health but there are many other factors that play in the decisions to eat and choices we make.
We decide what we eat because we choose what we are interested in and how we eat all these foods, and we keep going back to them. It is our decision what we eat if we make the healthy decision or unhealthy decision on the food we eat. I believe there is no right or wrong way to eat because the only decision that matters is our decision because we are putting the food in our bodies.
In the article “The extraordinary science of addictive junk food” author Michael Moss explains to us the effects of the decision making of eating junk food gives us. The author uses logos because he gives us examples of the effects that the junk food gives us which can cause obesity that is one of the highest bad causes. For example “We were very concerned, and rightfully so, that obesity was becoming a major issue”(Moss 472). The author has been concerned that eating high amount of fast foods like hot cheetos, any other chips, sugars, candy, and salts.

Author explains that the most that kids are focused on, are Cheetos. It’s a pleasing taste and makes us want more and more author Moss explains to us but there are consequences to eating these. The evidence to show that many kids that eat unhealthy and adults too that are addicted to junk food, have a higher chance of getting obesity.
The author tells us that we can enjoy big amounts of junk food and there is a way that the chance of getting obesity is low. We can be different sometimes because I believe there are times that we have this major craving for junk food and want to eat so much salt and sugar and bad foods. Then other days we have this feeling of wanting to eat healthy and eating a balanced diet. For example “We act like a snack, not vegetables… We exploit the rules of junk-food to fuel the baby carrot conversation.
We are pro junk-food behavior, but anti junk food establishment”(Moss 494). The author says in my opinion there can be different ways that we feel towards eating junk food and eating balanced. We have a feel to eat vegetables and other feel to eat sugars. I can say that yes indeed there are times in my life that after practice I get the feeling of eating hot Cheetos, then later regret it saying it was a bad idea and go in this mode of eating healthy for days n days. This means that it is up to us on how we eat. The decision is ours for our lives to be healthy or not. Your health decisions can be influenced by your values and attitude.
There are certain ways for us to eat so that’s why markets are set up the way they are. The way the markets are set up can affect how we choose our foods which affect the way we eat how we decide on what to eat. In the article “The Supermarket: Prime Real Estate” the author Marion Nestle states that there are reasons why supermarkets are laid out like all other supermarkets.
They are trying to make us buy the things we don’t need and forget the things we need most importantly. For example “There are reasons why milk is in the back of the store and the center aisles are so long. You are forced to go past thousands of other products on your way to get what you need… but they do everything possible to make the choice theirs, not yours.”(Nestle 497). The author is telling us that the reasons why markets and stores are set up the way they are is to tell us we need more food and make us buy more things that we don’t need.
There can be times that we go to a supermarket with a list and leave with only a little that are on the list. An example from the article “Researchers says about 70 percent of shoppers bring list, but only 10 percent follow it”(Nestle 504). From reading this article on how supermarkets make them, I really am going to be sticking to what I put on my list and not go buy things that are not on my list because it’s what researchers say.
Now that when I go to markets, I won’t be distracted by how they are formed and what they want me to buy instead buy the things I want to buy for helping me out for the better. I would never think that the way they set up markets the way they did after reading this article. It can be hard following your specific list that you take with you to the market, when you have many more items in front of your face when it is tempting to buy them but you really don’t want to.
You can go to the market and have a list of things you want to get but you see somethings that is not on your list, the decision you make to get that other food can affect how you eat and could be a bad decision toward your health.
I think the problem with eating is that people can eat whatever they want and later in time they get bigger, then they wonder why they are not losing weight. The decisions people make on what they eat affect their body and if they do overeat and not exercise then they gain weight and will consistently make bad decisions to eat. Some people can eat whatever they want and not gain weight which is like me.
I can eat so much and not gain a single pound. Then some people eat alot, and they gain weight easily. I think it is just how our bodies work with us. Some people eat whatever they want to eat and they can not gain a single pound. They are most likely to have a fast metabolism. I don’t think the food is bothering us and I also think it is up to us on what we should eat and how we eat.
It is our decision on whether we should eat healthy or not, people can’t tell us how to eat. If we feel like the food we eat is good with us whether bad or not it’s only up to us. It can be different for athletes because they know that they have to eat healthy so it’s different for those that have to eat a certain way.
What influences which foods we decide to buy and eat? Personal taste, family preferences, cultural influences, emotional reasons, health concerns, social pressures, convenience, cost, and variety of the foods that all come into play when we choose what to eat. There maybe influences between your friends or family that gives you those times to make the right decision on what to eat.
The main reason we choose a particular food is because we like the way it tastes. But it is possible to tell ourselves to love the taste of healthier foods as an adult. Learning to enjoy the taste of eating right takes time and perseverance. Ask most any expert about the secret to weight loss, and you’ll hear that it’s essential to keep favorite foods as part of a healthy diet.
We all grew up with fond memories of foods that bring us joy. Others want a specific detailed list of foods to eat and avoid, like when you have a meal plan of things to eat and not to eat. Studies suggest that the greater the variety of food offered, the more we tend to eat. Keep the variety of foods at any particular meal to a minimum, and it may help you resist the temptation to overeat or eat the unhealthy foods. Typically, we eat more when we eat meals away from home and with others. Some studies suggest that the size of the meal we consume increases with the number of people at the table.
People that eat whatever they want don’t care about how their bodies are because of their decision on what to eat. They have no shame of what they eat. Our bodies are used to the things we eat so we want more of the same foods. We need to try new foods for the better of our health. The food they can eat, it doesn’t matter to them if it is healthy or not because it’s their decision.
I don’t think the food is bothering us and I also think it is up to us on what we should eat and how we eat. It is our decision on whether we should eat healthy or not, people can’t tell us how to eat. If we feel like the food we eat is good with us whether bad or not it’s only up to us. Although I do believe athletes have a different way to eat because if they do eat unhealthy then they are out of shape and can hurt themselves.
I do believe that athletes and professionals that do sports have to eat a certain way, and have to eat a healthy diet, like for cheerleaders, you don’t see them always going out to eat cheeseburgers and hot dogs and pizza, they have to eat healthy, with foods like salad and lighter foods. For athletes they do have to eat a certain way for whichever sport it may be, they need their right amount of proteins, carbs and electrolytes that their bodies need.
We make decisions on what to eat because the foods we eat catches our attention and we keep coming back to them. In the article “Hungry? Food Choices Are Often Influenced by Forces out of Your Control” by Christina Roberto, she states “the decisions on eating are out of our control, from deciding when and what to eat to how much food you actually put on your plate, the average person makes over 200 food-related decisions each day”(Roberto).
She claims people make so many decisions on what they eat so that when they eat, they are just intaking so much they don’t know how much they need and may be overeating. The decisions on overeating can impact how we eat overtime because we would continue to eat unhealthy that would make us unhealthy. We have to make the right decisions to be healthy and control what foods we eat. It is our decision how we can eat healthier and not make bad choices to better our bodies.
In the article “Gut Reaction: Morality in Food Choice” from Science daily the author states that whatever you go with what you’re eating, you should stick with what your gut says. An example “Gerber believes we have an ethical obligation to take care of the environment. By approaching food ethically, we may also benefit our own health. That’s because our moral views affect us on an emotional, “gut” level that may have a stronger influence on our behavior than facts”(Gerber).
I believe you should stick with your gut feeling, because you are the one that’s making the choice, if it’s beneficial to you or not, it is up to you. The foods we decide everyday is our choice on what we put into our bodies. We make the decision so others can’t make it for us if we want to be healthy or not. I believe there is no right or wrong way to eat because the only decision that matters is our decision because we are putting the food in our bodies. I don’t think the food is bothering us and I also think it is up to us on what we should eat and how we eat.
It is our decision on whether we should eat healthy or not, people can’t tell us how to eat. If we feel like the food we eat is good with us whether bad or not it’s only up to us. It can be different for athletes because they know that they have to eat healthy so it’s different for those that have to eat a certain way. The food they can eat, it doesn’t matter to them if it is healthy or not because it’s their decision. I don’t think the food is bothering us and I also think it is up to us on what we should eat and how we eat. There is no right or wrong way to eat because the only decision that matters is our decision because people can’t tell us what to eat.
Within the first hour of your day waking up, you will decide what to eat for breakfast, or whether to eat it at all. In the article, “You will make 200 decisions about food today” Brumberg of Cornell’s Food and Brand Lab research has shown people make about an average of 200 decisions on what they should eat throughout their day. These decisions, according to Brumberg’s work has shown us, they are the ones we make without us knowing. For example, “people are so accustomed to eating popcorn in a movie theater that they will do so even if the popcorn is rather stale”(food,brand lab).
People are more likely to order junk food when they feel stressed. Unhealthy foods are often inexpensive which is why we keep buying them over and over, making them especially appealing to those on a tight budget. We make the decision to take the cheap foods that is unhealthy for us rather than making the healthy decision and spending a little extra money for the better foods.
Fast foods and ready-to-eat convenience store items are also widely available and quicker and easier to prepare than home-cooked meals, which allows consumers to overeat them. In addition, in the article “Food choices are out of your control” recent reports have shown that soda companies are increasing their spending in the US on the Hipic and black youth, which is a concerning strategy as these groups have greater rates of obesity. The good news is that public discourse about obesity and policy-making is starting to reflect science.
The public and policymakers are realizing that the most known health issues like obesity and its related chronic diseases are not just about people’s individual food decision. This is what we really want to avoid in the beginning with people getting obesity at such a young age. In the US, the Food and Drug Administration will require large chain restaurants to list calorie content on food menus and it has proposed adding a Daily Value for Added Sugars on food labels to limit consumption. These can allow to customers to be forced to know what they are eating for their health.
In this source author Zelman states, we live in a world with more than enough food to choose from. What influences which foods we decide to buy and eat? Personal taste, family preferences, cultural influences, health, cost, and variety and quantity of the available offerings all come into play when we choose what to eat. Some studies have suggested that children who are exposed to a wide variety of foods early in life are more likely to enjoy a greater variety of flavors as adults. Any expert about the secret to weight loss, and you’ll hear that it’s essential to keep favorite foods as part of a healthy diet.
We all grew up with fond memories of foods that bring us joy. We know you need your favorite foods, it’s your job to be responsible in terms of how often and how much you eat them. Cost and convenience also weigh heavily in our food choices. Time-saving food choices are a major factor for anyone with limited time for shopping and cooking.
But expenses can add up quickly when you rely on restaurant, takeout, and convenience foods. Take a step back, your decision-making process, and see what traits you can identify to help you make healthy and satisfying food choices. In an article “Making Choice: How Your Brain Decides” describes the overall decision on what the brain decides on what to eat, “the overall decision, pros versus cons going into the decision of what is good for the body and how the body will act”(Szalavitz).
Our brain makes the right decision for us whether we need it, the risk versus the reward of our decision. We go through decisions throughout our day to better ourselves and the most important is what decision we make to eat.
To reiterate, I believe there is no right or wrong way of eating because it is our decision to eat what we want to it whether we make the right decision or wrong decision, it depends on our lifestyle of the way we have eaten before. The same way we have been eating before would not change the way we do in the future. We can change the way but, it can be some time. If we do eat the same that some people do like eating unhealthy, they can develop the cause of diabetes. Your health can be influenced by your values and attitudes.
Take responsibility for your decisions and health and surround yourself with positive influences. Decisions are made regarding food intake, exercise, peer and media influences. We all should try to eat healthy and not worry about all the bad foods so we can become healthy and forget all those bad foods in markets and liquor stores with sodas, energy drinks, and chips and candy, we can cut the amount of people that are unhealthy in the world. But the way we eat is all up to us whether we feel it is healthy or unhealthy for us.