Why is it hard for people to not eat junk food?

[Ambivalent1]

I find it incredibly easy for some reason. Maybe it's my ocd

 

[leloyon]

Because it's tasty and you don't have to prepare it. I get cravings for specific foods and thus will feel unsatisfied if I have not eaten said food.

 

[azo]

If you have some kind of anhedonia, I could see why you'd find it easier.

 

[Ambivalent1]

If you have some kind of anhedonia, I could see why you'd find it easier.

That applies to food too? Lol

 

[azo]

That applies to food too? Lol

I guess it depends on the nature/severity of the anhedonia? Sounds plausible to me. I've definitely had anhedonic phases where junk food/sugar completely lost its appeal (became off-putting, even).

This seems relevant.

 

[Fe(IV)]

I've had my ups and downs with junk food.

Creme cookies like oreos? I at one point ate two packages (2x ~90g) every single day. I was addicted to cookies. I ate almost every brand and flavor that was on offer. I still look around the cookies isle to see if there is anything new to try out.

Junk food, or packaged foods really, are so easy. Just the thought of waiting half an hour for rice to cook can be overwhelming. I get anxious because I have "nothing to eat" and spend 3, 4 hours just feeling like shit instead of cooking the goddamn rice. OR, or, I open a pack of cookies or snacks and I am immediately satiated.

If I got easy food, why cook?

If I buy junk food I usually end up eating it in a day or two. Always makes me feel like shit because of all of the added sugars. I mostly don't buy junk food for myself anymore.

 

[psp3000]

I am not sure why it's hard for some people I guess because it's easily accessible or because sugar is addictive (I am not sure about sugar being addictive but I have heard that being said a few times before)

I prefer to cook and bake it's fun and you can experiment and create random stuff although sometimes it may take a while depending on recipe and some people may not have the time, motivation, or energy to cook or bake or some people just don't know how to cook or bake or know what to buy when they go to a grocery store

overall I am not sure it could be anything poverty, lack of accessibility to healthy foods, lack of motivation, illiteracy when it comes to health and food stuff etc.

but this is a really interesting question

 

[Forever Sleep]

They pack these foods with fat, salt and sugar. All of which our lazy anatomies have evolved to crave because it would mean less work for them in the wild. A banana is likely to be more appealing to a monkey than a pile of leaves. Plus yeah- convenience and cost. It can be much cheaper to eat badly- which is terrible really.

These foods are addictive and they know it. They have food engineers which create recipe's containing exact proportions of sugar and fat to mess with our heads. I kind of envy you if you don't get that feeling when you indulge in foods high in that content. Also- sweet things tend to make us crave salt and the reverse apparently- so one thing makes you crave another and so on.

I don't think our anatomy has caught up with today's food industry. Like- bears I believe are built to be able to put on vast amounts of weight while food is abundant to sustain them when it's not. Their health isn't affected I believe by carrying all that extra weight- but ours is.

The food industry and the governments it pays money to is quite frankly- evil. They knew for decades how 'dangerous' sugar was- yet they let them sneak it into all sorts of foods. Serves them right now it's costing them so much in healthcare.

 

[BornHated]

Oh man I could write a thesis on this lol. Tbh, that's probably the thesis I would've written about if I had the chance to finish my career.

The TL;DR is gut microbiome and epigenetic adaptation for the most part. The other factors are socioeconomic, genetic, and neuroplasticity. Gonna talk about microbiome because I'm seeing most people usually know something about the rest of them but not this one.

Our gastrointestinal system actually has its own division that sends updates to the brain, and the little bacteria and other microscopic critters we got in our guts tell the brain what they need so they eat too. We need them because they help us break down our food, our body can't do it alone.
We come with a little starting pack of bacteria/microbial critters in and on our bodies from the moment we're born. That little pack will help us get our nutrients for the rest of our lives. But it's like an RPG; what you eat is gonna give the pack different stats to invest in, as some cell types will thrive while others starve.

So they talk to our brain. Not only do they tell us what to crave, they brain adapts by changing what our taste buds pick up to get enough to feed both us and them. Overweight people have been found to need a higher count of sugar to taste it compared to underweight people, for example.

The easiest ones to feed are the ones that thrive on sugars, unrefined carbs. Sugar gets used up reaaaaalll fast, so you get hungry more often in part cause they eat it fast, too. Then they multiply and start asking for more.
We also got some who help us break down fats and fibers. Those take a real long time to work on, so they spam the brain asking for food less often.

And over time, the body will adapt to these trends. Our body records and memorizes the base weight (fat + muscle distribution) we've been operating optimally on for a while and tries to keep it in that range, reinforcing cravings. That's why fad dieting is pointless if you're not gonna do that shit for LIFE. It is a marathon.

Main issue is we'd deplete all our natural resources if everyone on Earth ate ideally. I'm not joking, we'd cause mass extinctions of a bunch of aquatic species if we did in as fast as a week I think.

 

[lili]

I think for me it's out of laziness to be honest. Have no energy to cook food. So just resort to that. I have a stomach condition that really limits what I can eat, but I get so depressed that I can't eat anything, that I just start binging on trash food because I'm tired.

This week I've been eating a lot of cupcakes every day. Really processed ones too. I need to stop.

 

[Praestat_Mori]

I don't like junk food and it's not difficult for me to avoid it. Home- / Self- cooked food is not only healthier it also tastes better. I like to eat good food :-) it's one of the very few things I still enjoy.

 

[Lamentice]

Interesting to post that on a forum where most people have depression. One reason can be not having the motivation and/or energy to prepare something healthier, often junk food is convenient and easy.

 

[Homo erectus]

Junk or not is only relative. The common healthy foods, like fruits and vegetables, are mass produced with pesticide, fertilizer and genetic modification. As Jared diamond said, the invention of farming is the worst mistake of human.

 

[ggetout33]

To be straight up honest with you, I know full well what I'm eating is bad for me and might kill me one day but it tastes too unbelievably good to put down. Believe me I have tried. I'm a total hedonist and food for a long period of time has been one of my only immediate pleasures. Honestly how I'm still alive is a miracle in itself.

 

[Ambivalent1]

To be straight up honest with you, I know full well what I'm eating is bad for me and might kill me one day but it tastes too unbelievably good to put down. Believe me I have tried. I'm a total hedonist and food for a long period of time has been one of my only immediate pleasures. Honestly how I'm still alive is a miracle in itself.

What do you eat?

 

[ggetout33]

What do you eat?

Hamburgers, Hot dogs, Chicken tendies, Pizza, French Fries, Ice Cream, Cereal occasionally, Soda (but I quit caffiene) chocolate milk. Sums up just about everything.