Proper diet is first step to happiness and good health
Maneckji Cooper Education Trust Ready-to-eat meals that can be served hot and piping in just three steps, or if you are lazier, a burger which can be wolfed down with a pack of toothsome French fries and a pint of quenching sugary cola. What’s your pick?
Either way, you are conveniently overlooking the health hazards these foods are causing to our health.
Our past few generations have witnessed extreme cases of obeeven sity, diabetes and cancer. The cause of this
SHORTLISTING
150 students (30 students from each standard) will be shortlisted for interviews by a team of experts. is quite obvious, but everyone just wishes to remain oblivious. It’s time to wake up to the real sceproper nario.
Eating food is one of the most difficult, but best habits one can incultheir cate in lives. The uprising wave of junk food and sugary drinks need to be overcome as fast as possiotherwise ble, we will be engulfed in a quandary, from where extrication will
be impossible.
INTERVIEW
A panel of senior editors will interview the 150 shortlisted students and select 50 winners.
Bombay Scottish School, Powai Taxation on junk food is a sensitive, but necessary measure that should be enforced by our government to curb the ever-growing obesity crisis in India. With the rise in living standards of the common people, the consumption of fatty and sugary goods is simultaneously increasing. The people from the lower sections of society depend on the inexpensive and fat-laden nourishment provided by these foods for their survival while the upper classes relish the same food for its scrumptious taste. Thus, this problem affects every section of the society. Obesity causes terrible health complications such as cardiovascular diseases, mobility problems, diabetes, liver damage, etc. The taxation on fatty food, sugary drinks promotes healthy eating. The goal of the tax is to curb the sale of unhealthy products without restricting a person’s rights to choose the item. This exercise creates awareness about healthy options as the high price of fresh produce becomes almost at par with the taxed junk. When someone says the word “childhood”, the first connection most people make are to their fondest days, with memories that they will treasure forever and cherish.
For a large proportion of not only children, but also adults, their childhood would’ve been about reaching into a large packet of chips, finishing it in an astoundingly short period of time; pleading with their mother to buy them a doughnut, or a cupcake, or at least a cookie, or simply wondering if they could sneak a couple of chocolates into their bag and take it to school.
Placing a prohibitive tax on all junk food and sugary drinks would be ripping away the essence that culminates
AWARDS CEREMONY
The winners will be felicitated at a special award function. Most of us would prefer eating out than having khichdi at home. A lot of youngsters enjoy having fast food and aerated drinks. During social events, people who have food restrictions get lured in the name of ‘cheat day’.
Having junk food and sugary beverages in large quantities can lead to several health problems such as obesity, increased stress levels, diabetes and heart problems. It is necessary to take some measures so that people do not fall prey to these issues. One can be to impose taxes on unhealthy food items. Research on smoking has shown that even a 10% increase in prices has a significant effect in tobacco consumption. A similar tax can be imposed on junk food. The best solution is to spread awareness on food and its effects on our bodies.
A study has shown that banning junk food advertisements on children’s television channels reduces their urge. Citizens can make sure that junk doesn’t let them bunk a healthy day! one’s childhood, and placing it inside a category dominated by products such as cigarettes.
And it isn’t just the children that it’ll affect; the adults will feel a large impact too. It is quite doubtful that they’d enjoy having a kale salad as a midnight snack in place of a tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream.
By placing said tax, it portrays junk food and sugary drinks in a villainous light; making it much less of a guilty pleasure and more of an unhealthy lifestyle frowned upon by the society. After all, it is quite obvious what a child’s or an adult’s response when asked if they prefer eating a double chocolate brownie, or a stale
piece of broccoli. The scholarship programme is open to all students between Classes 5 and 10 in Mumbai. Look out for the nomination form in Hindustan Times.