This Thursday, July 21 marks World Junk Food Day, established by the United States. Apart from celebrating food that is too fatty, too sweet or too salty, this day is an opportunity to look back on the dangers it poses to health.
This is World Junk Food Day! If some see it as a pretext to enjoy unlimited food that is harmful to their health, others see this day as an opportunity to talk about its misdeeds.
Junk food in Reunion
Magali Tarnus, a nutritionist and dietician, calls junk food anything that is too fatty, too sweet, too salty. “Junk food is what brings empty calories to the body, which the body does not need to function“, she adds.
Junk food is part of the daily life of Reunionese. Moreover, more and more fast-food giants are emerging on the island. However, according to Magali Tarnus, fast food is not the only one to point the finger at. “In Reunion, junk food is found in fast foods, in the fried foods that we often eat such as samosas, chilli candies, but also in curries“, she says.
End the excesses
If fast foods are very popular with Reunionese, they have not yet dethroned curries. According to the nutritionist, to be in better health, you should not necessarily eliminate curry or fast foods from your diet, but reduce the quantity consumed. “If we consume it every day, it is harmful to our body. I recommend having fun once a month with a fast food and reducing the consumption of trays to once a week.“, she says.
Apart from greasy and salty food, Magali Tarnus draws attention to the high consumption of sugar, especially that of sugary drinks, which is also harmful.
The scourges of malnutrition
In Reunion, several diseases are common among the inhabitants, caused by malnutrition. According to INSEE figures, in 2019, 45% of Reunionese were overweightwhose 28% were overweight and 16% were obese. And according to figures from the ARS and the ORS-OI, 1 in 10 Reunionese is treated for diabetes, including 33% of people aged over 65. “Excess sugar turns into fat. This is harmful because it lodges next to our organs which will subsequently function less well.“, adds the nutritionist. She recalls that Reunionese are strongly affected by diabetes, obesity and kidney disease.
How to cure it ?
Magali Tarnus advises to proceed with the change of nutrition in stages. “We must first reduce sugar, including sugary drinks, but also pure sugar. Then you have to increase your portion of vegetables. And if you want to eat junk food like hamburgers or tacos, the best thing is to do it yourself, at home. It’s ultimately healthier and less expensive“, concludes the nutritionist-dietician.
“I was so addicted that I couldn’t live without it“
From the height of its 13 years, Jade admit to having had a certain junk food addiction. The girl could go several times a week in fast food restaurants to eat hamburgers, fries, crispy chicken or kebabs. “It was as if there wereit something in the food that made you want to eat it even more“, she says, as she struggled to change her diet.
However, the teenager had no choice when she began to develop health problems. “Today, I find myself with a chronic illness that forces me to watch what I eat. At my age, I find myself having frequent check-ups and I am entitled to daily treatment. My school rhythm has been disturbed, since“, deplores Jade. According to her, although junk food is not at the origin of her digestive disease, it strongly contributed to its development.
It has now been six months since Jade became aware that junk food had an impact on her health and that she has reduced her excessive consumption. “Today, I eat it once a month and I notice an improvement in my state of health. I have fewer digestive problems, I feel better“, she says.
Moral of the story, according to Jade: “avoid junk food and eat healthy!“
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