Any nutrition or health experts? Need help
 

If so, I need help defining "junk" food? I currently think that junk food refers to all foods that include saturated fat, sodium, sugar, and artificial flavoring. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Maybe, I should be more specific and focus on grams? (e.g. grams of fat).

Re: Any nutrition or health experts? Need help
 

Ok?...

Re: Any nutrition or health experts? Need help
 

If it is for school, then just log onto a database and look for peered reviewed articles. See how they define fast food in the research and try to come up with a better way to define fast food. There are tons of papers on the subject so you should have no problem carrying out the task.

Re: Any nutrition or health experts? Need help
 

It's hard because it's not that simple. From reading a lot into this stuff I don't find saturated fats to be that bad, the problem is that people tend to overdo it and choose terrible sources. I for one think butter is a healthy addition to a diet as long as you keep the numbers in check. I do believe sodium is one of those things to watch out for. Almost everything has artificial flavoring, for example yogurt. I don't see yogurt as junk food. Sugar is also hard to explain because there are different types (dextrose/fructose/ lactose, etc) which change the way they're absorbed by the body.

For example eating too much fruit(fructose[sugar])can lead to non alcoholic fatty liver disease. Maybe if you explain why you want to label junk food it would make it easier to help. I think of it as over processed food. White rice for example, but it's different for everyone.

Re: Any nutrition or health experts? Need help
 

Blasphemy.... Hold your tongue. Next, you will say pinto beans... pft. j/k lol

Re: Any nutrition or health experts? Need help
 

I agree. Junk food is pretty much overly processed foods that don't really have much nutritional value but have a lot of bad stuff in them. High Fructose Corn Syrup is pretty processed. Margarine, is hydrogenated oil and is full of trans fats which ironically make it worse than just plain butter. In short, I try to eat more foods that are closer to how they came out of the ground or delicious animal.

Re: Any nutrition or health experts? Need help
 

I know. It's one of those foods that's hard to shake off.

Re: Any nutrition or health experts? Need help
 

Thanks for the feedback man. I already tried that, and scholarly journals tend to be vague in their definition as well--with the exception of one study, which defines junk food as food with saturated fat. I will think about it.

Re: Any nutrition or health experts? Need help
 

Good points. Mhzzz In this case, I should just list some of the common "junk" foods, such as chocolate candy bars, chips, bread, etc.

Re: Any nutrition or health experts? Need help
 

No way saturated fat.
I actually like to add butter for the extra saturated fat.
If it's for school check the ratio of carb/protein/fat for countries and try to establish a correlation to bad health like heart disease.
I would say refined carbs if I had to choose between the 3.
A lot of junk food has low saturated fat.