Argumentative Essay Junk Food PDF

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Argumentative Essay

Should the sale of junk food in school canteens be banned? Since the schools were introduced to junk foods, kids started to buy and consume uncontrolled. Junk food is any food that is perceived to be unhealthy and of low nutritional value. Tran (2005) states that the nutritional value of food eaten by Australian children has been falling progressively over the past 30 years. As a way to overcome the problem, the sale of junk food in the school canteens should be banned as it is unhealthy, it causes litter problem and it causes behavioural problems in the children.

Junk food is bad and not good for our health. According to the Health Foundation (2005), most of the junk foods such as biscuits, confectionery, hamburgers, instant noodles and soft drinks are of low nutritional value. These foods which are high in fat and sugar will contribute to the childhood obesity. The schools will face the problem of weight gain among the children. The problem becomes worse if the children do not get enough physical activity. Furthermore, Dental Association reports that the sale of soft drinks lead to the decline in dental health of Australia’s primary school children. Hence, the unhealthy food must be prohibited in the school canteens as it is unhealthy to the school children.

In addition, fast food packaging is the major contributor to the litter problem. According to Smith (2005), litter is a safety and health hazard, it will burden the costs for a school to clean up the litter and also create a bad image of our communities. Jack Green, a teacher of Hillview Primary School reports that when the junk foods were sold at school canteen, there were cans,crisp packets,cartons and plastic containers all around the school compound. As a result, the school groundsman have to spend much time to clean the grounds and no time to spend on the maintenance projects that benefit the school. In other words, banning of junk foods ensure the cleanliness of school.

Besides that, junk foods have been proven to trigger behavioural problems in

children. Most of the junk foods sold in school canteens contained chemical additives to give colour and flavour instead of lengthening the shelf life of the junk foods. These additives have been shown to cause behavioural problem such as hyperactivity and poor concentration among the children (Smith 2005). According to The Food Show, Dr Cray said that when such foods are readily available at school everyday, students cannot get the nutrients they need for healthy development and growth, and their learning potential is reduced. Jack Green also reports that there was a obvious improvement in students’behaviour in class when the school removed the sale of junk foods in the school canteen. The students became calmer after lunch. The removal of junk foods from school canteens could improve the children’s behaviour.

As a conclusion, the sale of junk foods in school canteens should be phased out progressively because junk foods bring more harm than good to children. The sale of junk food in school canteens give bad effect to the school children’s health, create litter problem in the school compound and lead to the changes of students' behaviour. Lastly, school authorities are responsible to put the welfare and safety of students in priority by banning the sale of junk food in school. canteens....