Argumentative Essay #1

Junk food can be defined as any food that have low nutritional value and considered to be unhealthy (Smith 2005). According to the research by Health Foundation (2005), six out of thirteen most popular snack foods among the students contain low nutritional value. In Weekend News (2005), it is stated that over the past 30 years, the nutritional value of food eaten by Australian children has been falling progressively. As a result, childhood obesity is likely to happen and junk food is the one to be blamed for this. Thus, I strongly believed that sales of junk food should be banned in school canteen as it leads to health problem, environmental problem and initiate behavioural problem of students.

First and foremost, junk food should be banned in school canteen is simply because it can give an adverse effect on health of the students (Weekend News 2005). As students usually consume what is sold by the canteen, and most of it is junk food, it can contribute to weight gain of the students. Then, the problem worsens as students did not get enough physical activity and may lead to childhood obesity which can cause students to suffer chronic disease in the future. Dental health of students may also deteriorate as a result of intake of soft drinks which is also a junk food. Thus, junk food cannot be sold in the school canteen as it may cause childhood obesity and dental problem.

In addition, the ban on junk food in school canteen should be enforced because junk food can lead to environmental problem. Junk food packaging contributes to litter problem in most of the schools. Cans, crisp packets, cartons and plastic containers are usually being dumped everywhere by the students as it is convenient for them (Green 2005). This litter problem increases cleaning costs and time besides create a bad image of the communities (Smith 2005). It is clear that junk food give a detrimental effect on the environment of where education takes place.

Furthermore, junk food can cause behavioural problems of the students. According to Mary Caputo (2005), a child psychologist, junk food can trigger behavioural problems as there are a lot of chemical addictives in the junk food. The examples of behavioural problem that can emerge as a result of junk food intake are hyperactivity and poor concentration (Smith 2005). Jack Green (2005), a primary school teacher said that student’s behaviour improves when junk food and soft drinks are removed from the canteen. This shows that junk food severely affect the behavior of the students.

In a nutshell, junk food is indeed brings negative effect on the students itself, the environment they live in and their lifestyle. It is a must to prevent students from continuing harm themselves and the environment although it may scarifies more profits to the school from the sales of the canteen (Weekend News 2005). Thus, I strongly believe that sale of junk foods in school canteens should be banned for the sake of future health of our nation.