These are the calories, or food energy units, that come from
refined sugar, fats and starches. They include white sugar, vegetable oil,
white flour and all foods made from them.
Confectionery is mainly sugar and soft drinks are sugared
water. Cakes, biscuits and puddings are usually high in all three - sugar,
vegetable oil and white flour. Crisps and other savoury snacks are very high in
fat, and also in salt. These foods provide little more than fuel because they
have lost their vital nutrients and fibre.
Having lost all or most of their minerals and vitamins, they
do not contribute to health maintenance. Because they are so concentrated, they
are not filling, and the temptation to overeat is hard to resist. They make a
very major contribution to obesity and health problems of every kind.
Healthy and active people can usually cope with small
amounts of junk food on an occasional basis, especially if they exercise
vigorously to burn the calories up. If junk food is a large part of the diet,
there is a price to pay in present or future ill health, or both.
