Argumentative Essay #1

Generally, any food which is considered to be unhealthy and low nutritional value is defined as junk food according to Smith in Family Journal (2005). Nowadays, there are more than fifty percent of Australian schoolchildren buying their lunch from school canteens which is in contrast to thirty years ago when most children bought their lunch from home. Their lunch from school canteens are mainly consisted of junk food such as chocolate, canned drink and chips. (Weekend News 2005) I strongly believe that the sale of junk food in school canteens should be banned as it creates a lot of problems such as health problems, behavior problems and litter problems.

Firstly, junk food which contains many unhealthy ingredients harms the children’s health. According to Tran in Weekend News (2005), junk food is a main cause of childhood obesity. Childhood obesity is a very serious issue as it can contribute to the children future health diseases like heart disease, osteoarthritis and some cancers. These problems are made worse that most young people who consume a lot of junk food are generally lack of physical activities. Reynolds in Weekend News (2005) reveals that the junk food sold in school canteens is conflicting to the messages given to the students in classroom. Besides that, a statistic show that most of the popular snack foods are low nutritional value and thus lead to imbalance nutrients. (Health Foundation 2005)

Moreover, children behavior is affected by the presence of junk food. Many behavioral problems such as hyperactivity and poor concentration are caused by junk food which contains chemical additives to prolong its shelf life and enhance flavor as well as color. (Family Journal 2005) Cray in The Food Show (2005) says that nutrients needed which are not available in junk food prevent students from healthy development and growth. This will also reduce students’ ability to learn and lead to poor academic performance. Furthermore, according to Caputo in The Food Show (2005), a research shows that cutting down unhealthy foods like junk food in children’s diets helps to improve their behavior as junk food is usually loaded with chemical additives.

Lastly, litter problems are unavoidable with the sale of many types of junk food in school canteens. The packaging of junk food creates a lot of litters which is a safety and health hazard. Cleaning costs will be risen as increasing litter leads to greater burden on cleaning workers. In addition, litter creates a bad image for our communities. (Family Journal 2005) According to Green in The Food Show (2005), removal of junk food and soft drinks from school canteens reduces the litter problems significantly. As a result, the grounds man can spend his scarce time on maintenance projects that benefit the school as less time are needed to clean the litter.

In conclusion, the sale of junk food leads to a variety of problems such as health problems behavior problems and litter problems. Since the sale of junk food in school canteen disadvantages the school children greatly, I strongly believe that it should be banned. As the saying goes, “Prevention is better than cure”, the sale of junk food in school canteens should be prohibited expeditiously to avoid the problems getting worse.