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IELTS 4 class handout

The document discusses the rapid rise of junk food, particularly burgers and fries, over the past century, highlighting the alarming increase in consumption despite health warnings from experts. It explains the evolutionary reasons behind overeating and the addictive nature of high-calorie processed foods, especially among children. The text also critiques the junk food industry's influence on dietary habits and the glamorization of unhealthy eating, contributing to a potential global obesity crisis.

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Anh Angelo
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57 views2 pages

IELTS 4 class handout

The document discusses the rapid rise of junk food, particularly burgers and fries, over the past century, highlighting the alarming increase in consumption despite health warnings from experts. It explains the evolutionary reasons behind overeating and the addictive nature of high-calorie processed foods, especially among children. The text also critiques the junk food industry's influence on dietary habits and the glamorization of unhealthy eating, contributing to a potential global obesity crisis.

Uploaded by

Anh Angelo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Handout 2

THE UNSTOPPABLE RISE OF BURGERS AND FRIES


A It is astonishing to contemplate how popular junk food has become, given that the first
fast food restaurant in the US only opened its doors a mere century ago. Since then, high-calorie
processed meals have taken over the world, with multinational restaurant changes aggressively
chasing levels of growth that show no signs of slowing down. Much of this expansion is currently
taking place in less developed parts of the world, where potential for customer loyalty is seen as
easier to develop, but it is not just in these areas where such growth is visible. Indeed, a recent
study from the University of Cambridge found that the number of takeaways in the United
Kingdom rose by 45 percent between 1997 and 2015. This explosion in the takeaway trade is not
an inevitable outcome of what we call “progress”. On the contrary, it comes in the face of an
increasing body of evidence that we are heading for dietary disaster.
B Yet, despite nutrition experts’ best efforts to educate people about the dangers of a diet
filled with processed food, it appears that the world does not want to listen. Medical specialists
point out that, although eating too much unhealthy food is likely to be as dangerous in the long-
term as smoking, regular consumption of high-calorie food has somehow become more socially
acceptable than ever. While local authorities in some towns and cities have taken measures to
combat the rise in this trend by limiting the number of fast food outlets permitted to be open
simultaneously, critics argue that people have every right to make their own decisions about
what the eat and how they choose to live. However, the way in which we have come to binge on
takeaways isn’t only a personal issue of weight gain, or of buying larger clothes. The
consequences of mass overconsumption should strike fear into the hearts of everyone.
C Research suggests that there is an evolutionary reason as to why people compulsively
overeat – it is simply part of our innate behavior. When humans evolved, we did not have the
abundant supply of food that we enjoy today, and so eating was more about survival than
pleasure. We became more likely to opt for high-calorie foods, with high fat content, that could
sustain us through cold winters when the supply of nourishment became sparse. This explains
why a 600-calori burger seems so attractive: it awakens our primal side, makes us feel well fed,
inspires contentment. Processed food stimulate the reward response in our brains, so we feel
compelled to overeat, and not necessarily in a healthy way. Junk food acts as a trigger for
chemicals such as the “feel-good” dopamine to flood through the brain and induce a sensation
of happiness. Meanwhile, high amounts of sugar and sodium (one of the chemicals in salt and
other ingredients of fast food) cause a huge surge in blood sugar, pushing it to unnatural levels.

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D This occurs within the first few moments of eating a high-calorie meal. From there,
routinely processing such high levels of sodium is impossible, and the body’s organs are pushed
beyond their natural working capacity in trying to do so. The kidneys cannot remove all the excess
salt from the blood, and thus an overdose of sodium causes the heart to pump faster while
transporting blood through the veins. There are multiple dangers of high blood pressure,
especially for the elderly and in the long-term. Sodium taken on in such quantities can lead to
dehydration, a condition whose symptoms are extremely similar to hunger, and this leads to a
painful truth: as soon as you have finished your junk food meal, you immediately start to crave
another. Thereafter, the body starts to digest the food. Usually, this takes between four and 12
hours, but with fast food, where the fat content is so much higher, the same process lasts at least
three days.

E A number of studies have shown how young people can become even more addicted to
junk food than adults. When a child eats a burger, the same neurological process occurs as in
their parents: their brain’s reward system is awoken, dopamine is released, a spontaneous feeling
of excitement results, their blood sugar rockets, and so on. An adult can apply their maturity to
understand that this thrill is not entirely without drawbacks, and that they need to control the
urge to eat more. However, a child cannot necessarily see any negative consequences to this urge
and the potential effects of their lack of self-control, so they find it far more difficult to exercise
restraint and moderate their food consumption.
F It is common to read or to hear criticism of the junk food industry that does so much to
promote the overconsumption of its products. But it does not appear that any of this criticism is
changing widespread dietary habits in any substantial way. What is more, the humble burger has
been elevated to such a point that many people no longer see it as simple, on-the-go food. It has
arguably become a stylish and aspirational part of one’s daily diet. Consider, for example, how
some television companies recently made several series of programs encouraging unnecessary
overeating, in which the host devours dish after dish of unhealthy, fatty meals until they are full
– and then far, far beyond. While such glamorization exists, it is difficult to see how our collective
march towards a global obesity crisis can ever be halted.

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