compare and contrast essay about fast food and healthy food

Fast Food vs Healthy Food: Difference and Comparison

Food is an essential component in our life to give energy. There are different types of foods are available. People living in different regions will prepare different foods.

Fast food and healthy food are two kinds of food. The food will produce a great impact on our health.

Key Takeaways Fast food is high in calories, saturated fat, and sodium, while healthy food is rich in nutrients and low in unhealthy fats and additives. Fast food is convenient and easy to access, while healthy food requires more preparation and planning. Consuming fast food can increase the risk of obesity, heart disease, and other health issues, while a balanced diet that includes healthy food can improve overall health and well-being.

Fast Food vs Healthy Food

Fast food is food that tends to be high in fat, refined grains and added sugars, all of which increase their energy density, or calories per gram. Healthy foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products and lean protein, tend to be lower in energy density.

Fast food is also called instant food. The primary focus of fast food production is to help travelers, wage workers, mine workers, commuters, and those who do not have time to cook or wait for a meal.

Fast food has the advantage to make it instantly. It attracts many peoples for its taste and instant ready. People love to buy fast food.

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In the modern world, people have no time to cook heavy and long dishes. They need the things instantly. Fast food become a great solution for working people. 

Healthy food is nothing but food with more healthy ingredients. Healthy food will improve your health both physically and mentally. A healthy diet is needed for everyday energy.

Healthy food contains nutrients, minerals, protein, vitamins, and fiber. These things will provide you with energy. These all are present in vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, and processed food.

Both plant-based food and animals -based food have a healthy diet. Various nutrition journals are published about healthy food and healthy diet. 

Comparison Table

What is fast food.

Fast food is a type of food that can be prepared easily and instantly. Fast food commercial has a big market nowadays. They are known for their speed of service.

The strategy behind fast food is to give food to a large number of people instantly and need to spend less time cooking. Globally, the fast-food market gains $570 billion every year.

It is a huge success in small time. The introduction of fast food will help working women to spend less time in kitchens. The fat food contains pre-cooked meals. You just need to heat it and eat.

Fast food become a culture that merged with everyday life. From pizza to hamburger things are getting instantly. And we love to eat it. The pre-cooked food, stored in a frozen state and packed are comes under the fast food.

Fast food restaurants are increasing and they are known for their services, taste, and time of delivery. In 1860, the first fast food began in fish and chip shops in Britain.

In 1950, the drive-through restaurant getting popular in the United States. Now the fast-food restaurants are merged in all the countries.

Fast food causes diseases like colorectal cancer, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, and insulin resistance condition. Fast foods are not advisable daily.

It causes severe illness for the human body when you take it continuously. You can take the fast food only in the necessary conditions. Homemade healthy food is advisable.

What is Healthy Food?

Healthy food and a healthy diet will lead to a healthy life. The modern world runs with fast-food culture, but too much fast food is not good for health.

Those cause many diseases. In some countries, nutrition labels are mandatory in the packets. You need to check twice before buying any food products. You need to check the expiry dates.

You can maintain a healthy weight by eating the same amount of calories every day. Food with more calorie content will cause cardiovascular diseases. You need to consume water regularly to hydrate your body.

Healthy food in the sense of healthy ingredients. The ingredients added to the dish need to be rich in minerals and vitamins. Many types of minerals and vitamins are available.

Each fruit or vegetable has some vitamins and minerals. You need to consume all the vegetables, fruits, and grains periodically. The intake of salt and sugar must be controlled and balanced for a healthy diet.

Simple healthy foods are those which help your body to sustain energy. Healthy food cannot cause diseases.

Healthy food has numerous benefits. It regulates your body. It enhances your diet. It makes you stronger. It gives you enough energy.

Healthy food does not just help to improve physical health but also improve your mental health. Healthy food will increase your immune power, and it reduces the chance of diseases.

Main Differences Between Fast Food and Healthy Food

• When compared to fast food, healthy food are low in saturated fat content.
• When compared to fast foods, healthy foods are rich in nutrients.
• Fast foods are easy to prepare and not time-consuming, whereas healthy food is time-consuming food.
• When compared to fast foods, healthy foods are mostly natural.
• When compared to fast foods, healthy foods have a high percentage of unsaturated fats .

• https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J149v07n04_03
• https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10900-008-9119-3

Last Updated : 17 July, 2023

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Home > Advice > What's Good For You > Fast Food vs. Home-Cooked Meals: Comparison of Nutritional Values

Fast Food vs. Home-Cooked Meals: Comparison of Nutritional Values

Fast food can please your taste buds and is a convenient alternative to home-cooked meals due to our hectic lifestyles. However, fast food does no good other than loading you with calories. So let’s compare fast food vs. home-cooked meals in terms of their nutrition and side effects and see how they stand against one another.

Case Studies Comparing Fast Food vs. Home-cooked Meals

Here are few studies that compare fast food vs. home-cooked meals.

1. Home-cooked meals contain fewer calories

According to new the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research, people who eat home-cooked meals consume fewer calories than those who eat fast food. People eating home-cooked meals consume less carbs, fats, and sugar than those who cook less.

The study also found that those who frequently eat home-cooked meals six to seven nights a week consume fewer calories when they eat out. They don’t choose frozen or fast foods when they eat out but eat fresh food with a good nutrition value.

Income or education aren’t factors that affect eating habits. But, is home-cooked food cheaper than fast food?

2. Home-cooked meals are nutritious and cheaper

A paper from the University of Washington’s School of Public Health shows fast food vs. home-cooked meals comparison considering the cost. It states that people who eat home-cooked meals have a healthier diet at a lower cost.

Eating home-cooked meals is less expensive compared to the amount we pay when eating out. What we pay for our monthly or weekly groceries is much less than each meal we pay for dining out. And, home-cooked meals are more nutritious than take-out or restaurant-made meals.

3. Home-cooked meals meet guidelines for a healthy diet

A study published in the Seattle Obesity Study showed that people eating home-cooked meals have greater dietary compliance than those that eat out. So, this means that their weekly diet plan meets the federal guidelines for a healthy diet.

The study also found that people with bigger families and more children cook their meals often.

Time constraints prevent people from cooking at home. As mentioned, the education or income of a person is not related to eating at home or out.

4. People who live alone eat unhealthy

A paper published in the journal  Nutrition Reviews , states that people who live alone are more likely to eat unhealthy. The reason may be a lack of cooking skills, no motivation to cook for self, no one to go shopping with, and so on.

5. Home-cooked meals decrease childhood obesity

Eating home-cooked meals along with the family helps with bonding and increases interpersonal communication. It keeps children mentally and physically healthy.

A study published in the  Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics  says that having meals with the family decreases childhood obesity. If parents spend quality time with their children, they have a better sense of self-worth.

Nutritional Values of Fast Food vs. Home-Cooked Meals

If we compare fast food vs. home-cooked meals nutritional values, fast food is high in salt, artery-clogging cholesterol, and calories. A single meal at a fast food chain can cost you all the calories you consume in a day.

A person who prepares their own meals can reduce the amount of salt and fats added to recipes. Eating fresh fruits and vegetables can help fight off ailments and prevent type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

If time constraints prevent you from cooking at home, you can invest more time on a certain day and cook enough food to last for several meals. Eating leftovers is still better than calorie-dense and nutrient-deficit fast foods. Also, you should opt for fresh fruits at least once a day.

Another idea is to cook simple meals with whole grains and veggies that you can make in less than 15 minutes. For instance, you can cook oats in milk and have them with fresh fruits. Or, you can chop some veggies in advance and refrigerate them for the next day so you can cook them quickly.

Nutritional Value of Baby Food

Research has found that homemade baby food is healthier than the store-bought ones. A study published in Archives of Disease in Childhood helps parents decide between homemade and store-bought food.

Store-bought baby food contains two vegetable varieties per serving, whereas home-cooked baby food may contain three or more. Home-cooked baby meals exceed the protein, fats, and calorie recommendation than store-bought food. Also, home-cooked meals have 26% more energy and 44% more protein and total fat than store-bought food.

Commercial baby foods contain less protein than home-cooked baby foods. Increasing the protein content increases the cost, so manufacturers may use fewer nutrients.

Commercially-made baby food has a low proportion of seafood-based products and a high proportion of red meat-based products. However, it is recommended for a child to have more oil-rich fish products and less red meat-based products.

Ingredient Variety vs. Nutrition

The findings of a study published in Archives of Disease in Childhood says that commercial meals provide a greater vegetable variety per meal and home-cooked meals provide six to seven percent more nutrients than commercial meals.

With that said, parents shouldn’t completely rely on commercial meals for their child’s nutrition. They should maintain a balance between home-cooked and commercial meals to provide the child with a varied, nutritious diet.

The Cost of Fast Food vs. Home-cooked Meals

Home-cooked meals are lower in average cost than store-bought food. The cost of home-cooked meals is £0.33 ($0.42) per 100 grams, while that of commercial meals is £0.68 ($0.88) per 100 grams.

One meal at McDonald’s for a family of four can cost $23.00 to $28.00. On the other hand, a home-cooked meal of whole roasted chicken with veggies, salad, and milk for a family of four costs about $14.00. Homemade meals of pinto beans and rice will cost even less, about $9.00.

A research study conducted by the University of Aberdeen in Scotland found that people who use organic ingredients for cooking at home would pay about one-third more. But still, the cost would be less than buying comparable commercial products.

Final Word on Home-Cooked vs. Store-Bought Meals

After looking at the fast food vs. home-cooked meals comparison, we can conclude that home-cooked meals are healthier and cost-effective as well. They don’t load you with calories, fats, harmful preservatives, flavorings, and salts. They go a long way in improving your overall lifestyle, health, and well-being.

Having said that, you should not totally deprive yourself of your favorite store-bought foods. You can still enjoy them in moderation once in a while.

• 5 Reasons Fast Food Should Be Banned

“Study Suggests Home Cooking is a Main Ingredient in Healthier Diet,” John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, November 17, 2014; http://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-for-a-livable-future/news-room/News-Releases/2014/Study-Suggests-Home-Cooking-Main-Ingredient-in-Healthier-Diet.html .

“Cooking at home tonight? It’s likely cheaper and healthier, study finds,” ScienceDaily, March 14, 2017; https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170314150926.htm .

“Living alone can dent healthy diets,” ScienceDaily, November 3, 2015; ttps://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151103090932.htm .

Wright, K., “3 reasons to be eat a home-cooked meal not just at Thanksgiving but all year long,” Fox News, November 28, 2013; http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/11/28/3-reasons-to-be-eat-home-cooked-meal-not-just-at-thanksgiving-but-all-year-long.html .

Nierenberg, C., “Homemade Baby Food Isn’t Necessarily Healthier Than Store-Bought,” HuffPost, July 21, 2016; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/homemade-baby-food-isnt-healthier-than-store-bought-study-finds_us_5791068be4b00c9876ce7947 .

Nicols, H., “Store-bought baby food may be healthier per meal than homemade,” Medical News Today, July 20, 2016; http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/311783.php .

Tuttle, B., “News Flash: A Healthy Home-Cooked Meal Costs Less Than Fast Food,” Time, September 26, 2011; http://business.time.com/2011/09/26/news-flash-a-healthy-home-cooked-meal-costs-less-than-fast-food/ .

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An opinion essay about fast food.

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Fast Food vs. Home Cooking: Lifestyle and Traditions Research Paper

Reasons for the existence and consumption of fast foods, advantages of home cooking, recommendations and solutions, works cited.

Lifestyle has changed a lot in the past century and people to have changed; they prefer speed in all their actions, making everything happen faster than usual. Communication, transport, business activities learning, among other activities are all happening so fast in today’s world and so is eating. People prefer to consume fast food instead of having homemade food; fast food is food that is easily prepared and conveniently available at any time.

The concept of fast food though is not new in the world, and it has existed since ancient times. In the Roman cities, people depended on vendors to provide them with food, and the same case happened in London and Paris. The good thing with this business is that the food was from natural products hence healthy, a fact that has since changed (Stewart, 46-48)

Many people are very busy for the better part of the day and only get to their homes very late hence fast food seems to be the better option for them but the question is whether it is safe. The reason has to why people are so busy is because of the changes in living standards, life has become very expensive, so people have to work harder to provide for their needs.

For this reason, people are having more than one job at the same time while others are even working day and night. In this situation, time to prepare homemade food is rare; hence people opt for the cheaper and easier option; otherwise, if people had the time they would consider having homemade food which of course is healthier.

Another reason for fast food intake is the accessibility of food restaurants due to urban development. There are fast food vendors in every street and avenue of any city or town in the world; they are actually the easiest places to find in any city. Fast foods are also available in other business as a side trade.

For example in filling stations most of them have shops selling these foods, to attract those getting fuel or gas for their vehicles. Most of these places operate on a 24-hour basis hence making fast foods available anytime, anywhere. The restaurants are very easy to open as they require little capital, laws on their establishment are also not very strict hence favoring their existence (Saltsman, 54-55)

Fast food businesses also make huge profits from this trade since taxation is very minimal and the raw products used are not natural, most of them are artificial or genetically modified hence it is cheap to run this trade. The food is also very tasty because of the additions made to keep people addicted to them and hence cannot resist them and they keep going back.

Packaging of the foods is also cheap because most of it is packed in plastics bags or cartons which are very cheap. Some of the restaurants also prefer to deliver the food directly to the customers to save on the costs of establishing a place for operation where customers can seat. This makes people lazier because they know that even when at home they can still get fast foods.

People also prefer fast food because it already prepared to be eaten there are no more procedures involved while homemade food needs to prepare in advance by buying all the ingredients needed, and they are all not available in one store hence one has to visit many stores to get them all.

Homemade food is the best because of various reasons: it is clean compared to fast foods; research has shown that fast food kitchens are as dirty as sewage water the fact that many may consider as a mere talk but it is the truth. Eating at home is, therefore, more hygienic, hence one can avoid bacterial infections and diseases from worms which are very common.

Homemade food will always be prepared using natural ingredients, this makes it very healthy as compared to fast food which is prepared from artificial ingredients containing, calories, sugars, fats, and sodium.

Homemade food is also cheap compared to fast food although some times it may seem expensive, it is worth it because the ailments that people acquire from fast food consumption makes the whole product very expensive in the end.

For example many people gain a lot of weight from fast foods forcing them to take preventive measures such as attending gym and therapy sessions to assist them to lose weight which is very expensive, other diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure due to cholesterol and kidney problems due to high intake of sodium are also common and very costly to manage.

Lavigne explained that a patient sued various fast food businesses in 1945 because he had two heart attacks, was diabetic and also obese, he said, “I trace all [my health problems] back to the high fat, grease, and salt, all back to McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King – there was no fast food I didn’t eat, and I ate it more often than not because I was single, it was quick and I’m not a very good cook. It was a necessity, and I think it was killing me, my doctor said it was killing me.”

Finally making homemade food is more satisfactory psychologically since people get to eat what they want not what they are forced to eat due to circumstances. Eating at home is also very important for family harmony because as people prepare and eat food they can spend time together and get time to discuss various family matters but when people opt for fast foods everyone becomes separated from each other since there is no a unifying factor leading to break up of families.

People ought to find time for themselves to prepare quality and fresh food because as much as people will spend time increasing their wealth it has been noted that most of it goes to solving problems that they created in the process of acquiring it.

In choosing what to eat many people consider the cost which is, a very bad criterion for choosing what to eat because many people will often go for cheap forgetting that cheap is expensive. Fast food has negative effects on our bodies as mentioned earlier, and we have to treat them hence spending huge finances on issues that could have been avoided.

People can also prepare homemade food when they are not very busy and keep it chilled in the house this way they will only be warming it instead of consuming food that has been conserved using lethal chemicals.

Homemade simple food can also be prepared from the various ingredients found in many of the stores; because only rare products will be hard to find but is better having a simple homemade meal than any form of fast food. There are also online grocery stores that can even deliver the groceries at the work place hence people only need to make orders online consequently they is no excuse for consuming fast food (Lavigne ,8-31)

The government needs to put some inspection procedures and laws regarding the content of food sold in this restaurants. It should also increase taxation of revenues from this trade; this will make the food more expensive hence people will choose to eat homemade foods.

Businesses not in the food industry such as gas stations should not be allowed to sell foods at all because that is very inappropriate and unhealthy. The advantages of these foods are by far less than the disadvantages both for the individuals and for the government which also has to incur extra costs on health care.

It is also the responsibility of parents to make it a family value to eat at home, and this way the children will follow suit and will make it a habit that will be practiced forever even when they grow up. Schools should also ensure that they offer quality to students because studies have shown that young people attending college are major customers of fast food business a habit they follow even when they are employed. They should not have fast food shops in the school as it is now.

Instead, they should establish restaurants selling quality and fresh food. Homemade food, therefore, will always be the best option since the government will never stop people from cooking food at homes but it can stop the fast food business and homemade food will win (Cordell,27)

There are restaurants that have begun to emerge offering quality food to people, but the food is very expensive; hence people are still stuck on fast food although some of them have changed to these new casual hotels. However, even with the emergence of these restaurants, homemade food remains the best because hygiene at home is very different from that of any public facility.

It is therefore evident that homemade food is the best, and if proper laws were enforced, it would be the people’s only option but a good one. As time goes by, people will start experiencing the effects of consuming fast foods and will be forced to change to homemade foods which are safer. Fast foods businesses will either start to offer quality food or close down due to lack of customers (Thompson, 18)

Cordell, G.. “ Fast food vs. home cooked meals (in marketing).” Brains on Fire 24 th April.2009:27. Print

Lavigne, P. “What is lurking in your stadium food? ” Espn outside the Lines 24.Feb. 2007: 08-31. Print

Saltsman, P. “The appetizer.” National post 27 July.2010:54-55. Print

Stewart, M., Living. “From the kitchens of Martha Stewart Living.” Easy Home cooking 06 March. 2003:46-48. Print

Thompson, P. “Nutrition Talk.” Jamaica cleaner may 5. 2004:18. Print

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Free Fast Food vs Home Cooked Meals Contrast and Comparison Essay Sample

Eating well day in day out should be our goal. This is because diets never work and the results do not last for a long time. People should eat in a healthy way because good food is enjoyable and integral part of the daily life. Many people believe that eating well begins in the home kitchen. Too often people eat in a rush away from home. Fast food is fat and high in calories but low in nutrients. In some cases it is possible to find healthy meals in restaurants or low-fat prepared foods in markets. Home cooked meals are healthier, tastier and more economical. Golson learned that the food we make at home will be fresher and more wholesome than anything found at a restaurant. Lacalamita&Vance argue that fast food is consistently prepared and provides good value for the dollar when all other issues are cast aside. However, reliance on a fast food diet leads to health concerns such as obesity and heart disease. On the other hand, sitting down to a home-cooked, well-balanced meal is preferable to wolfing down a high-fat meal of little nutritional value and fiber, along with a sugary carbonated drinks.

Eating out is a part of today’s lifestyle. Hoeger & Sharon says that in the late 1970s, food eaten away from home represented about 18 percent of the energy intake. In the mid-1990s this figure rose to 32 percent hence almost half of the money Americans spend on food today is on meals away from home. Eating out would not be such a problem if portion sizes were reasonable or if the restaurant food were similar to the food prepared at home. In comparison with home-cooked meals, the restaurant and fast food meals are higher in fat and calories and lower in essential nutrients and fiber. Food portions in fast-food have increased substantially in size. Hoeger & Sharon stated that “patrons consume huge amounts of food, almost as if this were the last meal they will ever have”. Eating out menus may include selections that are called healthy choices but these items may not provide nutritional information including calories. Fast-food menus have many other choices that look delicious but provide larger serving sizes with more fat and calories and fewer fruits and vegetables. Hoeger & Sharon say that it is difficult to make a healthy selection because people tend to choose food for its taste, convenience and cost instead of nutrition.

Pros and cons of eating out

Fast-food is often less healthy than we think. Greer established that eating out can be tough issue for many people. While many people strive to be health conscious, we often view an evening of dinning at a nice restaurant as a treat or reward and thus tend to over-indulge. The most fundamental thing to note is that when people eat out at restaurants, they consume a greater quantity of saturated fat and calories, fewer nutrients and less fiber than when they eat at home. Greer says that “children eat almost twice as many calories in the average meal compared to a home-cooked meal”.

Valenti & Orey say that when an individual eats out he or she does not know what he or she is getting. This is because the media is constantly doing cover stories about mysterious things that go on in meat packing companies, foods that are not being cooked long enough in fast food places and restaurants that have health violations. Another disadvantage of eating out is that people consume hidden fats. Valenti & Orey says that even though the base of the meal may contain chicken, beef, eggs or cheese, these foods will be cooked in fake butter or oils.

Though eating out may be little harder on one’s pocket, it does not have to be unhealthy. Legere says that as a rule of thumb, while eating out people should stick to the main concepts of healthful eating that is applied to a home-cooked meal. He further continues to indicate that people should know that larger portions of fast foods served in restaurants are a marketing ploy and usually provide far more food a person needs. Legere says that instead of fried foods, one should order foods that are broiled, boiled, steamed, grilled or baked.

Eating home cooked meal

House stated that it has not been a secret that fast food, junk food, quick food, even restaurant food was sweeter, saltier, creamier, more fried and more fake than our basic home-cooked meals. This is because we have no control over what a restaurant makes for us. At home we can make fresh, fun, tasty meals just the way we like, in our own schedule and within healthy reasonable budget. House noted that “through home-cooked meals one can personalize the dishes just the way the family likes, all the while using lower-fat, lower-calorie and even fresher ingredients”. House also says that the food does not have to be fried, slathered, sauced or sizzled. With home-cooked meals, one can do it in the way the family will enjoy, which will not make an individual feel guilty about feeding it to the family.

Home-cooked meals enable us to control when the family eats, where they eat, what they eat and how healthy they eat. House says that every family has unique tastes and palette and the last thing that they should do is to sacrifice taste for health. In this context the best way to ensure we are eating nutrient dense food is to cook our meals at home, using raw ingredients, rather than relying on processed or pre-packaged foods.

Pros and cons of eating a home cooked meal

Borboa researched that eating out, dining by delivery, drive-thru and grocery store frozen main courses not only put ones health and waistline at risk but they are expensive and in many cases take just as much time if not more than cooking a meal at home. Borboa says that gathering the family around the dinner table or even better, having the family help with the meal before it gets to the dinner table presents a tasty opportunity to spend quality time together. Through home-cooked meals the children are taught a valuable lesson in health promoting, money-saving life skills. Borboa further says that through home-cooked meals the children grow up with the positive perspective that home-cooked meals are the norm even for the busiest families.

If a person respects the importance of cooking meals at home, he or she gains a profusion of advantages that are so rarely acknowledged as a count among the best kept secrets of our day. According to Mendelson, in addition to saving money, cooking at home helps us to be healthier, happier, more secure and it provides a wonderful way for us to be with our families. Another advantage is that it takes less time than going out to a nice restaurant; a person enjoys better tasting food and knows much more about its history and preparation. He further says that cooking at home also increases one’s control over the cleanliness and quality of ingredients and cares what goes into the food and establishes one more area in life in which he or she can be independent and knowledgeable.

Home-cooked meals satisfy emotional hungers as real as hunger in the belly and nothing else does so in the same way. Mendelson says that they promote affection and intimacy among those who share them. Cooking at home is like the past and future and solidifies the sense of identity and place. Mendelson mentioned that “home-cooking can offer the essential portion sizes, sophisticated attention to individual nutrition and diet needs, freedom of repetition because people in their homes know what they have eaten today, yesterday and last week, menus that reflects likes and dislikes in fat and salt levels as well as flavors, ingredients and preparation styles”. Through home cooking we can make almost anything in the world that we want, and we can make family or ethnic dishes just the way we like them. When we have satisfying, well designed meals at home, we are going to be less prone to overeating and nibbling, not only due to the types of foods we are likely to prepare but because the very emotional satisfaction offered by home-cooked meals helps to assuage the feelings of emptiness that make some of us eat when we are not really hungry.

Every parent discovers that the emotional comfort of home cooking is important for children. Mendelson noted that sharing meals with the children in the privacy of home environment reinforces the parents’ authority and beneficence in the children’s eyes and helps to increase their trust and pride in the parents’ abilities. Additionally, if children do not become accustomed to the taste of healthy foods at home, they are an easy target for marketers’ who want them to buy unhealthy foods away from homes. Mendelson says that such food contains high levels of fat, far too much salt and sugar, hidden ingredients and perhaps, the most harmful of all, textures and tastes that cannot be imitated at home. When children become accustomed to all tastes and styles of fast food and other commercial food, meals prepared at home that are healthier and better may nonetheless seem to taste wrong to them in the long run.

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Being healthy

Health education campaigns currently provide information on what is healthy and stress the health as a motivation for eating behavior. Ogden says that there is a fundamental increase in the number of foods available and marketed as being healthy. Ogden mentioned that these include healthy options with low fat and low salt content and specific food products designed to lower cholesterol or protect against cancer or heart diseases. Being healthy is determined by ones eating behavior hence it possible that for people without any health related symptoms, health concerns are of low salience and do not impact upon their decisions about eating behavior in any significant way. Health concerns, according to Ogden, may become more of a motivational force once a person’s health starts to suffer and once he or she experiences symptoms which he or she believes may be modifiable by their behavior.

Being healthy requires that we take control and start making the efforts to decrease our food portions, substituting healthy foods for not so healthy foods and exercising, unless restricted by our physician. Leacock-Ballish says that we must shop wisely and prepare our own meals at home. In addition, Leacock-Ballish studied that we have to start somewhere and that somewhere is the first learning to commit to being healthy, which cannot take effect unless we start the doing process which includes shopping for our food items and knowing in advance what we want to purchase. Being healthy requires us to practice the reading labels which are a big part of a smart grocery shopping and then once we have purchased the healthy items, we have to commit to healthy preparation.

It is important for people to realize that it does not make any sense to buy healthy food items and then prepare them in an unhealthy way. Jacob, Chan & Thiessen in their studies noted that food should not be used as a reward or bribe for good behavior or for preventing the bad one. Parents should understand that all foods even treats can fit into a healthy diet. To be healthy we should choose the healthier foods more often and not so-healthy ones from time to time. Jacob, Chan & Thiessen identified that children do not have the knowledge to make healthy food choices hence they depend on their parents to offer healthy and varied food choices. This provides them with the foundation of being healthy and it is a basis of good eating habits even for the most fastidious eater.

Although eating out can be fun, the research of home-cooked food presents individuals with the best option for living healthy. People should realize that large food portions and flavors served in fast-food restaurants are marketing strategies which seek to encourage customers. Scholars assert that eating out would not be a big issue if the quality of restaurant food was similar to the quality of food prepared at home. The home cooked and fast food cannot be compared. From the economics perspective home-cooked food is more economical since it restrains individuals from spending heavily on fast-foods. The research shows that when people engage in preparing their own food they reduce the risks of their health concerns and averts diseases such as obesity, cancer and other related health complications such as heart diseases. Fast food is steadily prepared and provides good value for our money and time when all other issues are cast aside.

From the research we realize that eating out can be reasonable only if the quality of such meals is improved. Restaurants should address concerns such as reducing fat and calories and increasing essential nutrients and fiber. Fast foods should provide nutritional information to enable people to make the right choices. While eating out saves our time and the dedication required in shopping and preparing the meals at home, people should stick to the concepts of health eating. On the other hand, home-cooked foods play a key role in monitoring our diet in what people can come up with weekly menu of what they will eat. Home cooking gives us the opportunity to use raw ingredients instead of focusing heavily on the pre-packaged foods. People take control of the cleanliness of the food they consume when they prepare their meals. Fast food and home-cooked foods determine our eating habits and influence our body health. Being healthy requires taking control of the food portions we take be it fast food or home-cooked foods. The benefits associated with home-cooked food outweigh those of fast-foods on the basis of our health, hygiene and economics.

In conclusion, what people eat defines them, whereas how food is cooked defines our society and culture. Therefore we should strive to eat healthy foods always. This will promote our wellbeing. With home-cooked meal one knows exactly what is in the meal and one can adjust the seasoning or ingredients exactly to his or her liking. There are intangible benefits of cooking at home unlike eating out. Though fast foods save individuals from the hustle of buying and preparing food, home cooking is significant when health matters are put into serious considerations. Studies show that people who prefer cooking for themselves eat a home-cooked meal in a less rushed way, rather than a carton of take-out set on the table.

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Fast Food Vs Home Cooked

This essay will compare and contrast fast food and home-cooked meals, focusing on aspects such as nutritional value, cost, convenience, and taste. It will discuss the health implications of both types of meals, exploring how ingredients, cooking methods, and portion sizes impact overall diet. The piece will also consider the societal and lifestyle factors influencing food choices, and the growing trend towards healthier and more sustainable eating habits. It will provide insights for readers seeking to balance convenience with healthy eating. PapersOwl offers a variety of free essay examples on the topic of Fast Food.

How it works

Food is a basic necessity for all organisms on Earth. In fact, food is consumed to provide nutritional support for an organism, and it also provides energy, maintains life, or stimulates growth. Nowadays, we classify food into two which are healthy food and junk food. Healthy food is any food believed to be “good for us’, and the ones that have nutritious values to our bodies especially if high in fiber, natural vitamins, or fructose. Also, healthy home-cooked food should be well-balanced and consists of all categories of food from the Food Pyramid in the right proportion.

Healthy food may be natural food, organic food, whole food, home-cooked meal, and even vegetarian supplements. We can obtain healthy food from health food stores or just cook at home, at the organic sections in supermarkets, or from our kitchen. We also can plant vegetables and fruits at our yard to obtain our source of healthy food. Healthy food has a very short lifespan; it can get spoiled easily and have to consume within few days. On the other hand, junk food is processed food that have negligible or no nutritional value and are often high in salt, sugar, and fat. They are also categorized as pre-prepared junk food or packaged junk food.

Pre-prepared junk food are usually cooked before we consume them. They include pizzas, burgers, tacos, fried chicken and French fries. Unlike pre-prepared junk food, packaged junk food are food that are ready to be eaten. Packaged junk food is processed by companies and packaged in tins, bottles and wrappers. They are treated with preservatives to give them a longer lifespan; it does not get spoiled easily and easier for consumers to keep them. Packaged junk food include salted snacks, carbonated drinks, cake, chocolate, gum, and candy. Junk food became so popular around the world as they are very convenient for us to consume in our daily life. Junk food can be found anywhere near us such as at a small store and all supermarkets, they sell all types of junk food; the pre-prepared and packaged junk food. Now, we live in a world that have plenty, or even more than enough food for us to eat. Wander down any road and marvel at the options we can pick from. What actually influencing our choice in food we decide to buy and eat is how we compare and contrast between these two types of food. There are similarity and differences between healthy food and junk food which is for similarity, they both contain calories while for the differences, they affect our health in different ways and they have different range of price.

Healthy food and junk food have similarity where they both contain calories. Calories are the amount of energy it takes to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree. This is the indicator used to measure the amount of energy in the food that we consume. In this case, we use calories to indicate the similarity between healthy food and junk food, which is the total calories in each type food of both of them. Far as we know, food is fuel to humans that they actually provide energy for us to accomplish our daily activities. The calories in food that are burned in our body result in the energy that we used. Healthy food does not mean they are free from calories. In fact, healthy food such as steamed fish with vegetables and junk food such as McDonald’s burger are about equal in their calorie values. They both also contain class of food that we need as suggested in the Food Pyramid such as carbohydrates and protein. For instance, even from different class of food in Food Pyramid, one avocado contains 300 calories which equals to one Burger King’s cheeseburger. This shows that there is no difference in calories consumed when it comes to some of healthy food and junk food.

Generally speaking, there is actually quite a range of junk food which can be deemed as health food. As an example, natural plain popcorn that most people can eat without guilt is a junk food that almost health food. Even though some junk foods are almost healthy food, we still have to consume them in a proper portion. All people said that we must eat less junk food, but actually we can eat both in a proper portion. Of course, we will be fine if we eat both in a proper portion, because as people often said, too much of anything is actually the main problem. Eating too much of both can make us overweight as too many calories can lead to weight gain regardless of the type of food we consume. Moderation in consuming our meal is typically the most important factor related to any choice of foods we decide to eat. Taking each type of food moderately is the key in controlling our calories taken daily. For this reason, we can consume both types of food as they both have calories, but we must take both of them in a proper portion to control the amount of calories we take daily.

The most obvious difference between junk food and healthy food is how they both affect our health in different ways. Both types of food literally give us different effect because the food we eat will give our bodies the information that our body need to function properly. If we do not get the right information or in other words, if we consume too much junk food and very little in healthy food, our metabolic processes suffer and our health declines. Logically, right information will bring us to healthier and prosperous life but wrong information will make our health worst. As everyone knows, junk food is any food that is highly processed, high in calories and low in nutrients. This junk food usually high in added sugars such as the snacks which boost up our blood sugar level and cause a spike in insulin, which then leads to a quick drop in blood sugar. That leaves us feeling tired, cranky and hungry for more. This is the main factor of why sometimes some junk foods can be so addictive. Too much of salt and saturated or trans fats in junk food such as fried fries and hamburgers can lead to higher risk of obesity, depression, digestive issues, heart disease and stroke, cancer, and early death.

Lacks of fiber, is also another property of junk food that eating too much of it could lead to constipation. We can prevent ourselves from having all these type of diseases by consuming more healthy foods. Killing two birds with one stone, healthy food also can benefit our physical, mental and social well-being in powerful ways. Healthy food can help us at least to reach and maintain a healthy weight, reduce the risk of chronic diseases as mentioned before and promote our overall health. Healthy with the right type of food as suggested by the food pyramid in a proper portion gives us energy we need to keep active throughout the day and the nutrients we need for growth and repair, helping us to stay strong and healthy and the most important role, to help to prevent diet-related illness. Obviously, dissimilar from junk food, healthy food like fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy can help to reduce our risk of heart disease by maintaining blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Last but not least, healthy food and junk food also differ in their price range. The last time you were at your favorite restaurant or fast food premises, you may have noticed that a salad was going to cost you a bit more than a hamburger and fries. Unfortunately, this isn’t just a coincidence as a study by Cambridge University shows that eating healthily costs three times as much a consuming junk food and the price gap is actually still widening. Processed foods, frozen foods and grains were much lower in price but also considerably less healthy. In Malaysia, individuals who are wishing to uphold a healthy diet would be expecting to pay RM 3 more per day. This will result in increased food costs of about RM 1080 per person at the end of the calendar year. In the long run, adding RM 3 to your budget each day can benefit you because of all the health issues that will arise when you consistently eat unhealthy food. You will actually be saving more money by avoiding those health problems that needs a stash of money to pay for its medical treatment. But here comes the sad truth, when healthier food like vegetables and dairy products is pricier compared to unhealthy items like salty snacks and sugary sweets, people are significantly less likely to have a high-quality diet.

As a normal citizen who also facing this same problem, I would really like to eat better but there are times where I can’t afford to. Going through this problem since I live independently, away from my family, I strongly believe that cooking from scratch and with takeaway meals priced as low as RM 3, we have little incentive to change our behavior. We always think of healthy food as expensive, because of the price of all these “superfoods” such as meat, fish and dairy, and the higher cost of organic produce. Yet nutritious food need not cost the Earth. Chia-seed smoothies are an expensive luxury, but basic nourishment such as carrots, lentils, potatoes is actually cheap as chips. Don’t be fooled by these expensive “superfoods”. Simply increase the volume and variety of fruit and vegetables in your diet as it can actually help to reduce the risk of ill health and need not be costly. Frozen, canned and dried fruits and vegetables are often cheaper than fresh but keep their nutrients. They also can be kept in a long time, meaning less food wastage. Avoid buying processed foods while actually you can make similar dishes quickly and easily for much less. Diet is fundamental for health and well-being, and the cost of food alone should not stop people from eating well. Junk food may be cheap and tempting, but the idea that healthy food is expensive is just fiction.

In conclusion, healthy food and junk food similarly contain calories but on the other hand, they differ in how they affect our health and how they have different range of price. Home-cooked and junk food similarly contains calories as a plate of healthy food could have the same amount of calories with a meal of junk food. We could see this point as an excuse to consume more junk food as the calories are about the same but we must always take food moderately. So, the main tips is actually to take any type of food but moderately. Although both healthy food and junk food contains calories, healthy food is actually always a better choice for us than junk food. In fact, we may felt like eating junk food are not affecting our health but actually they affect us in a long term after that. Eating junk food could lead to obesity, digestive issues, heart diseases, stroke and cancer. This is due to the high amount of sugar, salt and saturated or trans fats in the junk food that we consume and it is actually too much for our own body to handle.

Furthermore, Healthy food and junk food have different range of price where people nowadays have their own mindset that healthy food that contains “superfood” is so expensive and on the contrary, they thought junk food is much cheaper. Having this as their mindset could never change their eating style and as they buy their groceries at the supermarket, they would always reach for junk food which is the canned, packed and processed food as they thought they could save more money on it. Then again, actually we, all people could be smarter everyday by using these tips to eat healthy food in a tight budget.

• First, buying organic and “superfood” groceries rather than buying those canned foods as actually the canned foods actually contain a small amount of food in it, making people buying more than just one canned food. One of canned food may seem cheaper than buying organic or “superfood” but one is never enough. At last, we end up buying two to three canned food which now have the same price with those organics and “superfood”.
• Second, eating cooked food at home actually save much more money rather than having meals at a restaurant. Eating home-cooked meals actually save much more money and much healthier than eating at those restaurants as price for a meal at a restaurant nowadays usually reach almost RM 20 per person.
• Third, changing our protein sources from meats to other sources in case that those meats are expensive, We can change our source of protein from meats to beans, eggs and tofus. After all, we all should try choosing healthy food in our daily meal and stopping our habits in consuming junk food. 

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Home — Essay Samples — Nursing & Health — Fast Food — Fast Food And Its Impact On Our Body

Fast Food and Its Impact on Our Body

• Categories: Fast Food Junk Food Obesity

About this sample

Words: 1034 |

Published: Jan 28, 2021

Words: 1034 | Pages: 2 | 6 min read

Works Cited

• Malik, V. S., Pan, A., Willett, W. C., & Hu, F. B. (2013). Sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain in children and adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 98(4), 1084-1102. doi:10.3945/ajcn.113.058362
• Ludwig, D. S., Peterson, K. E., & Gortmaker, S. L. (2001). Relation between consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and childhood obesity: A prospective, observational analysis. The Lancet, 357(9255), 505-508. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(00)04041-1
• O'Connor, A. (2011, July 19). Fast food linked to child asthma and eczema, study finds. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/20/health/20fastfood.html
• Nguyen, S. P., Ding, D., & Mihrshahi, S. (2018). Fruit and vegetable consumption and psychological distress: Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses based on a large Australian sample. BMJ Open, 8(3), e018848. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018848
• Black, J. L., Macinko, J., Dixon, L. B., & Fryer Jr, G. E. (2017). Neighborhoods and obesity in New York City. Health & Place, 46, 156-164. doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2017.05.007
• World Health Organization. (2013). Global action plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases 2013-2020. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Childhood obesity causes & consequences. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/causes.html
• Rundle, A. G., Neckerman, K. M., Freeman, L., Lovasi, G. S., Purciel, M., Quinn, J.,... Weiss, C. (2009). Neighborhood food environment and walkability predict obesity in New York City. Environmental Health Perspectives, 117(3), 442-447. doi:10.1289/ehp.11590
• McWilliams, J. M., Hsu, J., & Newhouse, J. P. (2007). New risk-adjustment system was associated with reduced favorable selection in Medicare Advantage. Health Affairs, 26(6), 1693-1702. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.26.6.1693
• Drewnowski, A., & Specter, S. E. (2004). Poverty and obesity: The role of energy density and energy costs. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 79(1), 6-16. doi:10.1093/ajcn/79.1.6

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Essay on Healthy Food vs Junk Food

Students are often asked to write an essay on Healthy Food vs Junk Food in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Healthy Food vs Junk Food

Introduction.

Healthy food and junk food are two types of food often discussed. Healthy food is nutritious, while junk food lacks essential nutrients but is high in harmful substances.

Healthy Food

Healthy food includes fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains. They provide the body with necessary vitamins, minerals, and fiber to maintain good health.

Junk food includes fast food, sweets, and soda. They contain high amounts of sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats, which can lead to health problems like obesity and heart disease.

In conclusion, healthy food is the best choice for maintaining good health, while junk food can harm our health.

250 Words Essay on Healthy Food vs Junk Food

The escalating health crisis worldwide has brought into the spotlight the critical role diet plays in overall health. The debate between healthy food and junk food is more relevant than ever, with the former being associated with wellness and the latter with numerous health problems.

The Allure of Junk Food

Junk food, characterized by high levels of sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats, is often preferred for its convenience and addictive taste. However, the immediate gratification it offers comes with long-term health consequences. Overconsumption of junk food is linked to obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses. It also negatively impacts cognitive functions, affecting academic performance and productivity.

The Power of Healthy Food

On the other hand, healthy food, rich in nutrients like vitamins, minerals, protein, and fiber, provides the body with the necessary components for optimal functioning. These foods boost the immune system, enhance cognitive abilities, and lower the risk of chronic diseases. They also contribute to maintaining a healthy weight and promote overall well-being.

Changing the Narrative

Despite the clear benefits of healthy food, the pervasive culture of fast food has normalized junk food consumption. However, changing this narrative is possible through education and awareness. Understanding the detrimental effects of junk food and the benefits of a balanced diet can help steer societal preferences towards healthier options.

In conclusion, while junk food may appeal to our taste buds and offer convenience, its long-term effects on health are detrimental. In contrast, healthy food, despite being less convenient, provides numerous health benefits, making it the superior choice. It is essential for individuals, especially college students, to make informed dietary choices for a healthier future.

500 Words Essay on Healthy Food vs Junk Food

The debate between healthy food and junk food has been a topic of interest for many years. As society becomes more health-conscious, the importance of dietary choices is increasingly recognized. This essay aims to explore the differences between healthy and junk food, their impact on our health, and the societal implications of these choices.

Understanding Healthy Food and Junk Food

Healthy food refers to foods that are rich in essential nutrients like vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates, and fats. These foods include fruits, vegetables, lean meats, whole grains, and dairy products. They provide the body with the necessary nutrients for growth, development, and maintenance of overall health.

On the other hand, junk food is typically high in unhealthy fats, sugars, and salt, while being low in nutritional value. Common examples include fast food, candy, soda, and chips. These foods may be appealing due to their taste and convenience, but their regular consumption can lead to various health issues.

The Health Implications

The consumption of healthy food has numerous health benefits. It provides the necessary nutrients that the body needs to function optimally. A balanced diet can help maintain a healthy weight, boost the immune system, and reduce the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer.

Conversely, the excessive consumption of junk food can lead to obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and other health problems. High levels of sugars and fats can lead to weight gain and elevated cholesterol levels. Moreover, the lack of essential nutrients can result in deficiencies that affect the body’s normal functioning.

Societal Implications

The choices between healthy food and junk food also have broader societal implications. The rising consumption of junk food is often linked to the global obesity epidemic. The ease of access and low cost of junk food, combined with aggressive marketing strategies, contribute to its popularity, particularly among younger generations.

Meanwhile, healthy food is often perceived as more expensive and less accessible, especially in low-income communities. This creates a socio-economic divide in dietary choices and health outcomes. Promoting the consumption of healthy food and making it more accessible and affordable can help address these disparities.

In conclusion, the choice between healthy food and junk food has significant impacts on individual health and society as a whole. While junk food may offer convenience and taste, its long-term health implications cannot be ignored. On the other hand, healthy food, despite its perceived cost and accessibility barriers, provides essential nutrients for our bodies and contributes to long-term health. As we become more health-conscious, it’s crucial to make informed dietary choices for our well-being and for a healthier society.

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• Arts & Humanities

Unhealthy vs. Healthy Food

30 Dec 2022

• Arts & Humanities

Format: APA

Academic level: College

Paper type: Essay (Any Type)

Downloads: 0

Unhealthy food is much more affordable and available than healthy food

Did you know that over 35 percent of adults and 20 percent of the children between 2 and 19 years old in the United States are either obese or overweight? The main reason for this alarming rate of obesity in contemporary society is the increased presence of junk foods. From a definitional perspective, junk foods refer to food products without substantial nutritional value to the users. Junk foods are packaged or pre-prepared. For example, the pre-prepared junk foods incorporate the cooked products before the consumers make substantial order; thus, burgers, pizzas, French fries, and tacos among others. Alternatively, packaged junk foods emanate from the companies in diverse tins, wrappers, or bottles such as the carbonated drinks, chocolate, candy, and pastries. In the fast-paced society, junk foods (unhealthy foods) have become popular because they are highly convenient, as well as cheaper in comparison to the healthy foods at the disposal of the consumers (Cecchini, Sassi, Lauer, Lee, Guajardo-Barron, & Chisholm, 2010). Notably, healthy food choices should be more affordable and available for all to help tackle the growing cases of obesity in modern society.

Because of fast food, as well as corporate farming implications, the food market is a mess. It is ideal for society to go back to the local food, as well as organics to promote healthy eating practices and activities in modern society. According to reality, junk food is a cheaper and convenient option for most Americans. Junk foods are highly available. With the presence of the fast-food chains at every corner in a town, more and more people in the fast-paced society focus on optimizing the convenient and cheaper junk foods because of their busy schedules and increased commitment to their jobs or work expectations. Other than just being widely available, junk foods or unhealthy foods taste good (Kern, Auchincloss, Stehr, Diez Roux, Moore, Kanter, & Robinson, 2017). Consumers do not spend time in preparing for the food as they can acquire them from the chains. Amid all these, there is a growing perception among the consumers that healthy foods are more expensive compared to junk foods. Researchers believe that eating healthy foods is highly expensive. It is about three times as expensive as consuming junk foods at fast food chains (Tam, Yassa, Parker, O'Connor, & Allman-Farinelli, 2017). In making it worse, the price gap between healthy and unhealthy foods is widening. The increased price difference between healthy and unhealthy foods is the main contributor to the growing cases of food insecurity, as well as increasing aspects of health inequalities, thus, the growing deterioration in the health outcomes of the population. One of the reasons for increasing food poverty is the high cost of healthy options. The cost of healthy food is a reflection of the sociological problem rather than just an individual’s choice.

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Why is this a problem? Unhealthy foods are the main contributors to obesity in the context of the fast-paced society. Other than causing obesity, junk foods are elements of poor nutrition associated with high blood pressure. Junk foods also lead to high cholesterol, as well as heart disease and stroke among consumers. Food is an important component of the physical and mental health of the consumer; thus, the need to avoid consuming unhealthy foods or junk foods. Unhealthy foods also contribute to tooth decay, different types of cancer, and diabetes. These aspects contribute to the negative implications of the health outcomes within society. More and more people continue to spend more on healthcare costs rather than securing healthy foods, as well as ideal eating habits for their health. The society has more obese and overweight people because of the increased consumption of the convenient, widely available, tastier, and cheaper unhealthy foods compared to the consumption of the healthy foods, which consumers deem to the expensive.

How is it possible to address the issue? The answer is quite simple. The government should adopt and implement appropriate measures to make healthy food choices more affordable and available for all. In this aspect, consumers will have the chance to optimize education on nutrition while understanding the perception and need for healthy eating habits to consume the available healthy foods rather than go for the unhealthy foods or junk foods.

One of the ways of addressing this is to increase awareness through improved communication channels from the authoritative support agencies to increase the knowledge among the consumers on the consumption of healthy foods. In this aspect, education as an intervention approach is ideal in the improvement of the negative perceptions among the consumers on the affordability of healthy foods (Harrison, Lee, Findlay, Nicholls, Leonard, & Martin, 2010). There is also the improvement of access to the farm products as a win-win strategy for the consumers and producers.

The authorities should also achieve this by moving the markets to the consumer through eradication of the geographical barriers (Niebylski, Redburn, Duhaney, & Campbell, 2015). The approach will create room for the establishment of the distribution channels such as food hubs, which are accessible to more and more consumers. Over 20 million Americans tend to live in low-income towns, as well as rural neighborhoods, which are far away from the supermarkets. In such aspects, it is appropriate to consider taking the market to the people/consumers. Conclusively, in curbing the growing cases of obesity and other health issues emanating from increased consumption of tastier, convenient, cheaper, and widely available unhealthy foods, healthy food choices should be more affordable and available for all.

Cecchini, M., Sassi, F., Lauer, J. A., Lee, Y. Y., Guajardo-Barron, V., & Chisholm, D. (2010). Tackling of unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, and obesity: health effects and cost-effectiveness. The Lancet , 376 (9754), 1775-1784.

Harrison, M., Lee, A., Findlay, M., Nicholls, R., Leonard, D., & Martin, C. (2010). The increasing cost of healthy food. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health , 34 (2), 179-186.

Kern, D., Auchincloss, A., Stehr, M., Diez Roux, A., Moore, L., Kanter, G., & Robinson, L. (2017). Neighborhood prices of healthier and unhealthier foods and associations with diet quality: Evidence from the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis. International journal of environmental research and public health , 14 (11), 1394.

Niebylski, M. L., Redburn, K. A., Duhaney, T., & Campbell, N. R. (2015). Healthy food subsidies and unhealthy food taxation: A systematic review of the evidence. Nutrition , 31 (6), 787-795.

Tam, R., Yassa, B., Parker, H., O'Connor, H., & Allman-Farinelli, M. (2017). University students' on-campus food purchasing behaviors, preferences, and opinions on food availability. Nutrition , 37 , 7-13.

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Similarities and Differences Between Healthy and Junk Food

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Healthy Food Essay

Healthy food essay teaches kids the importance of eating healthy food every day. You can provide the children with BYJU’S importance of healthy food essay.

Food is a fundamental part of our life. It is the fuel that helps us go about our daily routine, and it is the meal that makes us feel good at every minute of the day. Food plays an important role in staying healthy.

The food we eat determines the health of our body, and some foods are better for our bodies than others. Healthy food contains a lot of fibre, has a low glycemic index, and is high in nutrients. Furthermore, the consumption of healthy food benefits our mental and physical health.

This short essay on healthy food helps us understand its significance, along with a healthy lifestyle.

Advantages of Healthy Food

People often consider eating healthy because it helps them look and feel better. There are many reasons to eat healthy food as it has numerous advantages. Some of the most important advantages include reducing the risk of cancer, heart disease, obesity and diabetes, which eventually improves the quality of life.

There are also people who prefer healthier options for themselves. This can be for various reasons, including not wanting to gain weight, not spending a lot of money on food that would eventually go to waste, or just because they want to make sure their diet is as healthy as possible.

A portion of healthy food can help prevent disease. Moreover, healthy foods can help keep us away from getting sick from all of the chemicals in processed and junk foods.

When we eat healthily, we stay healthy.

Healthy Food vs Junk Food

We are in an era of dominance of the fast-food industry. There is a lot of information on the internet that shows people how they can live healthier and less expensive lives. One of the ways to do this is by purchasing healthy food instead of junk food. Many restaurants and grocery stores have received backlash for their unhealthy options.

It is high time to understand the difference between healthy food vs junk food by reading the healthy food vs junk food essay available at BYJU’S and adapting ourselves to healthy eating habits.

For more essays similar to the healthy food essay and other exciting kids’ learning resources, visit BYJU’S website.

Frequently Asked Questions on Healthy Food Essay

What are the benefits of healthy food.

There are many health benefits to consuming healthy food. Some of the benefits are it helps increase metabolism, enhances the immune system, lessens inflammation associated with heart disease, reduces the risk of cancer, obesity, diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol, helps control body weight, etc.

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