Many people desire to have a healthy body and ideal body weight by eating healthy and nutritious food. Unfortunately, study says that people need to pay more money if they want to eat a healthy diet compared to eating junk food.
The Economic Times reports that higher food costs and expenses are linked to healthier diet while lower food costs might negatively affect a person's health and weight. The study, which involved a ten-year analysis of more than 2,000 people and published in the British Journal of Nutrition, might help in letting the government be more aware of the people's need for more accessible and affordable health food choices.
"We have seen that a 1.4 euro increase in average spending on food is associated with the consumption of 74 grams more vegetables and 52 grams more fruit, per person per day, for a 1,000 kcal diet," one of the researchers told The Economic Times. The research team also found out that removing 6 cents from a person's average food expenses is linked to the increase of junk food consumption and a decrease in healthy and nutritious food consumption.
Between 2000 and 2010, nutritious foods such as fruits and vegetables increased in price by 50 percent. On the other hand, unhealthy foods such as pastries and processed goods increased its price by about 10-23 percent during the same time period.
The Health Site shared some of the effects of junk food on a person's health such as obesity due to high fat and sugar levels as well as type 2 diabetes development which is caused by the inability of the body to process insulin. Other possible effects such as gastroesophageal reflux disease and irritable bowel syndrome are also cited.
Likewise, fatigue and weakness due to the lack of healthy diet intake, depression due to hormonal imbalance, memory impairment caused by trans fats build-up, heart diseases caused by the bad cholesterol in the body, and colorectal and prostate cancer caused by high levels of fats and sugar in junk food are then mentioned and categorized as "negative effects."
