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PART A (Junk food effect)

A junk food is a derisive slang term for food that is of little nutritional value and often high in
fat, sugar, salt and calories. The American Heritage @ dictionary of the English Language
defines a junk food as a high-calorie food that is low in nutritional value. Collins English
Dictionary said that a junk food is a (cookery) food that is low in nutritional value, often
highly processed or ready prepared and instead of or in addition to well-balanced meal.
Whereas Random House Kemerman Websters College Dictionary (2010) defines junk food
as potato chips or candy that is high in calories but of little nutritional value. As the result
from discussion above we can conclude a definition of a junk food is anything food that is
attractive or diverting but of negligible substance.
Junk food typically contains high levels of calories from sugar and fat with little
protein, vitamins or minerals. Food commonly considered junk food included salted snack
foods, gum, candy, sweet desserts, fried fast food and sugary carbonated beverages. Taking a
lot of junk food will give effects to us. In this assignment I will discuss the effect of a junk
food to health, psychological and social.
According to new data compiled by the National Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey (NHANES), from 2007 to 2010 adults consumed on average 11.3 percent of their
totally daily calories from junk food. A junk food causes obesity that can increase in our body
weight, which can even be the reason for early demise. The reason behind this is the high
amount of calories in junk food and the lack of fibres. Many other complications also arise as
a result of obesity such as heart disease, heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and cardiovascular
disease.
Beside that a junk food also can causes cancer if used frequently. Junk food lacks
almost all the vitamins and protein that are essential for the proper functioning of our body. It
also impairs the immune system. Hence, the diseased cells in our body can become
cancerous.
The extreme use of soft drinks, sweetened juices and junk food can cause tooth decay,
especially among small children. It is because they are prepared with using low quality of fat,
sugar and high amount of salt. Junk food can cause a rise in your blood sugar and as a result
your energy level decreases. This will prove to be a hindrance in your performance, as you

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wont be able to carry out your work energetically. The high amount of fat and oil used in
junk food causes drowsiness. It takes more time for fast food to digest and consumes more
blood and enzymes, which ends up in lack of concentration.
There is compelling evidence that regular consumption of soft drinks leads to
increased rate of bone fracture, increased risk for osteoporosis and increased risk for kidney
stones.
Digesting a junk food fact can take a strong stomach. Here I have found a few facts to
chew on before we crack open another can of coke and King Burger Meals. A can of cola
contains 10 teaspoons of sugar; the metal in the can costs more than the ingredients mainly
water additives, refined sugar and caffeine. A King sized Burger King Meal contains 1,800
which is to burn these calories would take nearly 6 hours of cycling at 20 miles per hour.
The psychological effect junk food causes for weight gain can be easily explained. It
seems as though a fast food and junk food craze has swept the world over the last few
decades. While this may be a good thing for those seeking a way to live a more convenient
lifestyle it is unfortunately a very unhealthy and even life threatening way to live. Fast food
and junk food have been shown as being directly correlated to obesity and excessive weight
gain. One of the easiest ways to regain control of your weight is to simply toss the junk food
into the trashcan. What most people do not realize is that junk food is often highly addictive.
In fact, most junk food today is cleverly formulated to specifically target certain
centres within the brain in a way that mimics other addictions such as cigarette smoking and
drug use.
Psychological factors of cravings with regard to junk food arise when someone
deprives themselves of foods they enjoy, thus causing the opposite effect wanting those
foods even more.
Other effects that can be found at the root of cravings include hormonal imbalances
and an imbalance in adrenal function. Stress and poor sleep patterns can trigger cravings for
junk food. Overeating is another key trigger that can cause excessive cravings for junk foods.
Researchers at Penn State University have found that poor eating habits can actually
worsen a person's mood, especially among women who are concerned about how they eat,

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according to PsychCentral.com. An earlier study from 2010 found that people who show
signs of depression ate more chocolate than people who weren't depressed.
Junk food also arise social effect especially to young generation. As a Malaysian we
have many types of traditional food, but young generation more likely consuming large
quantity of a junk food than taking a traditional food.
It isnt an exaggeration to say that all of this unhealthy food is literally changing the
character of Malaysian and other countries. It is making people sick, taking away their edge,
and undoubtedly contributing to the growing climate of incivility in Malaysian. What is and
is not junk food can also depend on the person's class and social status, with wealthier people
tending to have a broader definition while lower-income consumers may see fewer foods as
junk food, especially certain ethnic foods.
Ultimately, the kind of societies many of us live in, filled with the marketing of
addictive foods, will need to change, if we want to protect humanity from more obesity,
diabetes, and heart disease and from the psychological illnesses that sugar and addictive
marketing are now causing. The food companies that adapt to these changes and offer
healthier fare will be the ones in the best position to prosper. And the countries that are
willing to put the brakes on addictive marketing will have a big advantage over those that
dont, both in their productivity and in the quality of the lives of their people. As a conclusion
Junk food facts are numerous, and the negative effect of junk food on health, psychological,
social and wellbeing is undeniable.
(1082 Words)






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PART B (How Greenhouse Gases Trap Energy From the Sun)











Diagram 1 : How Greenhouse Gases Trap Energy From the Sun

The Sun supplies the solar energy that keeps the Earth warm enough for life. Once
this solar energy reaches Earth, it follows complex path. According to NASA study, when the
sun's rays hit the Earth's atmosphere and the surface of the Earth, approximately 70 percent of
the energy stays on the planet, absorbed by land, oceans, plants and other things. The other 30
percent is reflected into space by clouds, snow fields and other reflective surfaces as infrared
energy. The rest of it ends up getting absorbed when it hits certain things in the atmosphere
such as carbon dioxide, methane gas and water vapour. After these components in our
atmosphere absorb all this heat, they emit energy. The heat that doesnt make it out through
the atmosphere than is going out. This is all part of green house effect that keeps the Earth
warm.

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Greenhouse gas produced by humans over the past hundred years is the main
catalyst behind climate changes characterized by global warming and rising sea levels.
Greenhouse gases are chemical compounds in the atmosphere that trap the sun's heat near the
surface of the Earth. Water vapour, like that found in clouds, is the most common greenhouse
gas. The next most-abundant greenhouse gas, and the main greenhouse gas produced by
human industry, is carbon dioxide. Other greenhouse gases include methane, tropospheric
ozone and nitrous oxide. Some greenhouse gases are produced naturally as a by product of
living things, in the case of carbon dioxide, or of anaerobic decomposition, in the case of
methane. Naturally occurring levels of greenhouse gases keep the Earth's temperature at least
60 degrees higher than it would be otherwise, making life on the planet possible. Humans add
to the concentration of greenhouse gases by burning fossil fuels, engaging in deforestation
and agriculture and creating synthetic chemicals, such as chlorofluorocarbons, that act as
heat-trapping agents.
As a conclusion we can say that the greenhouse effect is natural phenomenon. It is
important for life on Earth. Without the greenhouse effect, the Earths average temperature
would be around 18-19 degrees Celsius. Because of the greenhouse effect, the Earths actual
temperature is 14 degrees Celsius. But the problem is recently, the greenhouse effect has
become stronger. Scientist believes this is because human have been using large amounts of
fossil fuels, which release carbon dioxide when they are burned. Unfortunately because of an
activity of an illegal deforestation, human was felling of trees that absorb carbon dioxide
during photosynthesis process. Since carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas it has caused the
planet to warm over the past 150 years. The concern is that even relatively small worldwide
temperature changes can melt glacier and raise sea levels, devastating coastal areas. Changes
in ocean temperature may also affect large scale weather patterns like the jet stream, El Nino
and La Nina, eventually causing drastic weather changes and extreme weather variations in
some areas. Last but not least education and public awareness play an important role to
prevent this situation. Deforestation should be controlled to make a plant absorb carbon
dioxide. Burning of fossil fuels also must be reduce and find another alternative. Human have
caused this situation but human also provide the solution to this problem. We must do our
part to make our Earths save.
(546 Words)


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Farlex (2012). Encyclopedia.thefree dictionary.com/junkfood.effect; retrieved by
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Unknown writer. (2010). Junk food Facts, Not always easy to swallow. Retrieved by ;
Discover-yoga.online.com