Junk Foods and Its Health Implications
Junk food has become an emerging trend, especially in fast food outlets. Junk foods can be defined as a prepackaged and precooked food items whose nutritional value is highly reduced. These food items have high calories content. The food items were considered as the leading cause of the increase in obesity cases in the United States as reported by Michael Moss. In addition to the foods’ high calories content which is associated with diseases such as diabetes and also some heart diseases, the foods can increase consumers appetite making them consume more and more of these products. The concerns over the increased obesity cases led to the adoption of new advanced approaches of dealing with the menace (Sacks et al. 1001). Due to this, different stakeholders introduced some approaches which could be adopted in changing the unpleasant pattern.
Firstly, the issue noted was the production aspect which made the consumer feel the urge to consume more and more. There was a proposal for the producer to rectify the use of certain ingredients such as sugar, fat and also the salt content to make the products less appetizing and enticing to the consumers. These ingredients were noted to be the enticing approach that the producers were using especially for the children market segment.
Innovation is another approach used by food producers to differentiate their products as well as push for market share extension. Under this approach, the producers undertake some recipe changes or production method changes to come up with completely different end products. Through the concept of line extension, these products are then served to the same market or a more diversified market. New packing approaches are also used to entice consumers into purchasing these products.
The manufacturers are also considering approaches aimed at reducing the calories in their food products as an approach to entice their consumer. Due to pressure from different corners advocating for healthy eating the producers have bowed to the pressure and are producing products which are within the recommended calories limits.
Understanding the clients need and wants have been another approach which the producers have been able to serve the market effectively and profitably. Under this approach, the food production firms have identified the needs of their target customers beyond their market offerings. Due to this, the producers have become concerned with the health implications their products posse to the consumers. These firms, therefore, are producing products within acceptable health limits and standards. The approach enables the producers to be able to lure their customers into consuming these products (Sacks et al. 1001).
Another approach that the manufacturers are adopting is acting differently from the other market players and competitors to appear unique to their consumers. Under this initiative, the producers try to stand out from the rest in the market by showing concern to the consumers. Through this, the companies are producing products that are unique from their competitors and offering them to the current markets. Due to the high sophistication of the current market with the consumers being highly informed, the approach is giving the firms a competitive advantage over their competitors (Sacks et al. 1001).
Conclusion
Understanding the health hazards and implications posed by the consumption of junk foods enables both the consumer and the producer in making the purchase and production decision respectively. The information, therefore, ought to be availed to all the stakeholders within the food industry to enable them to make informed decisions.
Work Cited
Sacks, Gary, et al. “‘Traffic-light’nutrition labeling and ‘junk-food tax: a modeled comparison of cost-effectiveness for obesity prevention.” International journal of obesity 35.7 (2011): 1001.