“As a culture, we are upset by tobacco company advertising aimed at children, but we stand idly by while food companies do the exact same thing. And we could argue that the public health consequences of poor diet rival those of tobacco. » (Moss). Consumers should buy less junk food because it poses many problems. Junk food is a major problem in the world today because it is addictive, causes many internal and external problems, and there are many ways to avoid a diet rich in these foods. Junk food can be a very addictive substance, with the average American household's junk food consumption rate increasing by about a third of a pound each year. This means that the average consumption of salty snacks in general is around 12 pounds per year (Moss). Foods are addictive for a number of reasons, including optimizing the amount of each ingredient, developing taste bud tolerance to certain ingredients, and how the food feels in the mouth. Foods are optimized by what is called a “bliss point”, that is, the point where the consumer enjoys the product the most. By taking advantage of this, producers can encourage consumers to buy more (Moss). By doing so, the producer hopes to sell more of his products, which will allow him to make more money. Another reason a person may become addicted to junk food is that as they eat more of these sweet or salty products, their taste buds develop a tolerance to that particular flavor(s) (foam). They then need more of that flavor to satisfy their need, which leads them to buy more, which makes more money for the producers. Another way that producers get people to eat more of their produce is by brain... middle of paper ...... thumb, to get you to buy their products (Moss). When their products are purchased, consumers can become addicted and have additional health problems, but there are still steps that can be taken to prevent them. To avoid this, consumers should stop buying so much junk food. Next time, when deciding what to eat, think about how it might affect health. Works Cited Morris, Ivy. “How Fast Food Affects You Negatively.” SFGate 2014 (March 12, 2014)Moss, Michael. “The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food.” The New York Times February 20, 2013 (March 12, 2014)Style, Serena. “Healthy alternatives to fast food. » SFGate 2014 (March 12, 2014) Whitney, Ellie and Rolfes Sharon R. Understanding Nutrition. Belmont: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.