Impact of Processed Food to

Adolescents

Bugayong, Patrick Victor D.

Esperanza, Wilson I.

Ferrer, Sophia Mae M.

Parlan, Mildred S.

Tersol, Maricris B.

AC – 203

Mrs. Raquel Bermudez

Introduction

Brief Description

Food is one of the basic requirements to every individual’s survival. Throughout the course

of time, the availability of food has changed from hunting food, eating it raw, to basic cooking

methods like fermentation, baking, roasting and others In the modern age, a more convenient

development of food was used in order to provide military needs. Also, the process of

pasteurization was discovered in order to make food safe by eliminating harmful bacteria. In

addition processed food makes eating and cooking much easier and less time consuming but there

are much negative things that processed food may give to a person’s health. For instance there are

many variety of chemical additives that is been used in a certain product for example a kids most

favorite food hotdog and bacon.

Evolution of Food Processing

Food is the first and foremost requirement of the people for their survival. In order

to improve their palatability, nutritional value and shelf-life, raw food materials are being

processed for preservation for a later consumption. During the prehistoric age, food processing

started with sun drying, controlled fermentation, salting/pickling, candying, or other various type

of cooking like roasting, smoking, baking and using spices as preservatives. These tried and tested

techniques are still used although, with the advent of industrial revolution, new methods have been

developed. During the 19th and 20th century, modern food processing techniques were further

developed to serve the military needs. The discovery of hermetic bottling technique by Nicolas

Appert, a French chef and confectioner, were invented to preserve soups, fruits, and dairy products
among other foods by using corked-glass containers reinforced with wire and sealing wax and kept

in boiling water. The process of pasteurization developed by a French microbiologist Louis Pasteur

were also advent during that time because of its significant advance in ensuring microbiological

safety of food by treating milk to destroy disease producing organisms. In addition, products such

as instant soup mixes and ready-to-cook foods like frozen meat – hotdogs, sausages, and etc., cup

noodles, and canned goods, were invented with the help of the utilization of the advances in

engineering and in computer and information technology providing a vast variety of safe and

convenient foods.

According to (Siebel, 2016), during the second world war, many women were in need of

faster, more convenient ways to remain the ideal housewife in the eyes of society because, even

after their husbands returned at the end of the war, women also wanted to continue working or

participate in other activities beyond housework. With the same period, food processing has

become eminent because it supported processed food companies during the war, encouraging the

mass production of processed food. Indeed, the Second World War popularized processed food by

making it easily accessible to consumers both during and after the war, as well as making the

purchase of processed foods a symbol of patriotism.

Food processing fueled the progress of the food industry. Early eras shows scarcity in terms

of food processing. Many food are coming into waste because of over production and in terms of

greater demand, none can be found. As modern technology evolves, processed foods offers an

improved shelf life, nutritional value and safety of foods. Food processing caters to the demand of

the consumers to have a large variety of foods that can be easily cooked, stored and eaten.
Impacts of Processed Food

Processed food are the foods that have been chemically or mechanically altered from its

natural state either from its form or in its taste. Foods that undergone the process of food processing

have an improved taste because of the additives which made it more addictive for the consumers.

Commonly, processed foods tastes different from its original form because of the increased level

of condiments added to make the taste buds have a sinister effect that tells the brain if the food is

delicious or not and also, our brain in nature, recognize the bitter taste as something poisonous.

Another thing that makes the consumer patronized these type of food is because of the nutritious

benefit it has. Nowadays, processed food offers the individuals’ additional nutrients such as

vitamins, minerals, fiber to boost the health that helps in maintaining a nutritious diet people have

been looking for a way to maintain a balanced diet.

The negative impact of processed foods to young people can be seen through their health

status. Such kind of foods are the biggest sources of added sugar in the diet, and everything that is

taken so much is very unhealthy and can seriously affect someone’s metabolism. The company

that produces these food spend massive amounts of resources on making their foods addictive as

possible to the brain, which leads to overconsumption. There are many nutrients found in whole

foods that are not found in processed foods, which is needed by the young people, for their health

to able to have good foundation. Even within the schools premises however, kids and adolescents

are the common takers of these processed foods. Which is the target of the food industries through

aggressive marketing tactics, with evidence showing that food marketing towards people under 18

is dominated by unhealthy foods and beverages.

Technology and the Good Life Perspective

The Good Life

The attainment of good life is the main purpose of human existence, this is according to

Aristotle. He argued that there must be activities that are excellent and pleasing enough because

they are good. Life is shaped by these activities to have a happy life which eventually can lead the

life in good stand. The good life is reflected in the right choices and good actions if a person.

Another perspective is by Socrates. According to him, there is more in life. Every person should

be living their lives like it was their last life. Someone must not live life like it was the same as

yesterday. A person must question life because of its existence and ask questions about the things

in the world. Good life is defined by Confucius as living the life with motivation for health, wealth,

power and honor. These virtues will lead the life into good like how happiness helps with living

in harmony which what someone wants to remember.

In the researcher’s perspective, the definition of having a good life is succeeding on your

goals and plans. Good life is also having a sustainable support on what your family needs. One

don’t need to be rich to define a good life as long as you become a truly and fully human that’s

one of the importance of having a good life. But in the end, having a good life needs contentment

from each and every one of us. Because without contentment, no life will ever be good enough for

us. A good life is achieving contentment.

The natural process of consuming and producing food became complex through time. Here,

Heidegger’s point of view can be seen through its evolving movements. With this, it will be a help

to recognize the relationship of modern food processing to good life.

Food processing began simply in sun-drying, pasteurizing during industrial revolution.

They do this to preserve their food and destroy disease producing organisms. It can be seen here

that it is firstly done for convenience, rather than additional source of profit and increasing factor

in consumerism for food industries. Ultra-processed food is a modern technology that can be

related to Heidegger’s idea of challenging forth. A processed food is a food item that has had a

series of mechanical or chemical operations performed on it to change or preserve it, it is no longer

just aligned to people’s basic need, and instead it somehow became a luxury or want.

Food processing is a technology used to ensure one’s food clean and tasty. But it doesn’t

take sides, because it may be harmful and may be healthy to adolescents. The negative effect of

food processing to young people causes risk to their health to live a good life.

Processed foods can make people live easier and can reduce meal preparation time. In

addition, it can also be life-serving in emergency situations like natural disasters. However, people

who get many of their meals from packages may have heightened health risks due to additives or

contaminants formed during food processing have negative effects on metabolism. Some

adolescents tend to eat processed foods because of its convenience but didn’t have any clue that

their life may be put in danger if they have consumed too much additives coming from package

foods.
 Chapter III

Review of Related Literature

According to Moubarac (2013), the researchers investigate consumption of ultra-processed

products in Canada and to assess their association with dietary quality. They found out that

Canadian mostly consume ultra-processed foods. Consuming these product are unhealthy. A

drastic change in dietary planning can help reduce the consumption of ultra-processed goods. This

study relates to the current research because it also discusses the consumption of processed foods

and its effects on the health of an individual.

In this study, they discuss changes in food intake after adolescents attended a food and

nutrition education program at a non-profit institution. 54 adolescents, aged 16-19 were invited to

participate in a nutrition education program. The researchers will then observe if there are changes

in the adolescents’ eating habit and food choice after the program. The researchers found out that

the intake of legumes, milk, dairy products, fruits, and vegetables increased as well as the

understanding for food labels. This is related to the current research because the researchers also

aim to promote proper and healthy food consumption. (“Impact of actions of food and nutrition

education program in a population of adolescents,” 2016)

According to Monteiro (2018), the researchers aim to know the correlation of the

availability of ultra-processed foods and the prevalence of obesity. They found out that the median

average household availability amounted to 33·9 % of total purchased dietary energy for

unprocessed or minimally processed foods, 20·3 % for processed culinary ingredients, 19·6 % for

processed foods and 26·4 % for ultra-processed foods. The average household availability of ultra-
processed foods ranged from 10·2 % in Portugal and 13·4 % in Italy to 46·2 % in Germany and

50·4 % in the UK. The researchers found that the availability of ultra-processed foods has a

correlation with the prevalence of obesity. The findings of the research render the need for public

policies and actions that promote consumption of unprocessed or minimally processed foods and

make ultra-processed foods less available and affordable. This is related to the current research

since it also focuses on the effect of the consumption of ultra-processed foods and it aims to spread

awareness about the effects of the consumption of these types of food.

According to Costa (2018), the researchers aim to know the association between

consumption of ultra-processed foods and body fat during childhood and adolescence. The review

showed that most studies have found positive associations between consumption of ultra-processed

food and body fat during childhood and adolescence. The body fat that is found in the students are

a result of their exposure to ultra-processed food. This relates to the current research because it

shows that body fat is one of the results of exposure to ultra-processed food. The current research

aims to know the effects of the exposure as well.

According to Steele (2016), this related study aims to know the correlation between ultra-

processed foods and the intake of sugar of Americans. They found out through research that ultra-

processed foods are composed of not only sugar, salt, and oil, but also chemicals which are not

primarily used in culinary activities. After their sampling, they found out that 82% of energy that

the subjects use are primarily from the sugar they consume which is found in the ultra-processed

foods. Due to the finding of their research, they suggest that decreasing the consumption of ultra-

processed foods could be an effective way of reducing the excessive intake of added sugars in the
USA. This study is related to the current research because they both aim to know the effect of

consuming ultra-processed foods.

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