Why Are Junk Foods Considered Unhealthy?

The plethora of junk food available in most grocery stores can make a trip to the market feel like running a nutritional gauntlet. Brightly colored packaging and strategic placement in the areas most likely to draw your attention make the temptation to buy junk food difficult to resist --- but stay strong. Avoiding overindulgence in junk food is an important aspect of maintaining your good health. Junk food is considered unhealthy because it typically contains a high number of calories, large amounts of fat, salt or sugar and low concentrations of healthful vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber.

Excess Calories

Junk food usually contains an inordinately large number of calories in a small amount of food, a characteristic known as high calorie density. Your stomach stretches as it fills, which triggers hunger suppression. This hunger control mechanism helps you avoid overeating. When you eat junk food, however, you may consume a large number of calories before your stomach is full enough to suppress your hunger. Regular consumption of calorie-dense junk food may increase your total calorie intake and cause unintentional weight gain. Being overweight and obesity endanger your health by increasing your risk of developing high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and certain types of cancer.

Bad Fats

Junk food frequently contains large amounts of saturated fats, trans fats or both. Consumption of these "bad" dietary fats may elevate your total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels, increasing your risk of developing atherosclerosis. With this condition, fat deposits in your arteries obstruct blood flow. Atherosclerosis is a leading cause of heart attacks, strokes and peripheral artery disease, a painful condition associated with poor blood flow to your legs and arms.

Excess Salt and Sugar

Candy, soft drinks and desserts contain high levels of sugar. Chips, dips and other snack foods typically contain large amounts of salt. Although your body requires modest amounts of sugar and salt, the levels contained in junk foods commonly push daily consumption levels to excess. Too much sodium from junk food may increase your risk of developing high blood pressure, which is a significant risk factor for heart disease, chronic kidney disease and stroke. Weight gain associated with excess sugar from junk food also increases your risk of developing high blood pressure. If you have diabetes, consuming too much sugar increases your risk of long-term complications by causing persistently elevated blood glucose levels.

Reduced Intake of Healthful Nutrients

Including a significant amount of junk food in your diet may adversely affect your health by reducing your intake of nutritious, high-quality food. Each meal or snack is an opportunity to nourish your body; eating junk food, therefore, represents a missed nutritional opportunity. Eating junk food rather than fruit, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products or other healthful foods may lead to vitamin or mineral deficiencies and related health problems, including anemia, weak bones, poor strength and stamina, vision abnormalities, increased susceptibility to infections, skin rashes and digestive problems.