Non-fiction: Just Junk?

Just Junk?
By Jennifer Magid

See what’s really in your favorite fun foods.

You know you shouldn’t eat junk food, but a bit every now and then is OK
... right? Yes and no. “The problem with junk food in our current food culture
is that it seems to slip into every meal: We have a Pop-Tart for breakfast, a
Snapple at lunch, a soda after school, fast food for dinner, followed by an
ice-cream sandwich,” says Jill Jayne, a registered dietitian in New York City
who creates nutrition education programs for teens. “You can eat junk food.
It just shouldn’t be its own food group.”

Junk Puts Your Body in a Funk

Determining which foods are junk and which aren’t can be confusing. Is fast
food junk? What about high-calorie or convenience-store foods? Think of it
this way: If the food has very few vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients
that you need to be healthy, it’s probably junk. Food that qualifies as junk
will have a lot of sugar, fat, or salt.

Junk food can lead to obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. But you may not
realize how much it can immediately make you feel like, well, junk. The fat
in those foods can build up on your blood vessel walls, Jayne explains, which
“makes it harder for your blood vessels to circulate blood around your body.”
That can affect how well you are able to perform during sports and other
exercise—right away.

Jordyn L., a 16-year-old from Phoenix, has experienced the lousy post–junk
food feeling firsthand. “When I would eat fast food or processed things, I
would definitely feel the difference in my body the next day,” she says. After
doing an internship at a health food company, Jordyn became a teen health
ambassador at her school. She now encourages other students to cut out the
junk so they can feel better too. “They can’t believe that ... the one who
used to be obsessed with cake batter ice cream [is] now talking about
organic this and healthy that!” Jordyn says about herself.

Here’s a closer look at some popular junk foods, with some tasty and
healthy options.

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 Non-fiction: Just Junk?

Calories Count

These days, a visit to a restaurant, a movie theater, or a fast-food eatery

can be a rude awakening. Depending on where you live in the country, you
may see how many calories are in the foods for sale. In New York City,
where many chain restaurants and eateries are required to display a food’s
caloric information, 86 percent of restaurant diners were surprised by the
calorie counts and 82 percent said the numbers affected what they ordered,
according to a survey by food industry consulting firm Technomic Inc.

French Fries (medium)

One box of fries fills about 50 percent of your daily

allowance of fat. The cooking process also produces the
chemical acrylamide, which in high doses has been linked
to cancer and nerve damage.

Istockphoto

Healthier choice: A fast-food restaurant’s salad, which

has less fat and more vitamins and other nutrients

Istockphoto

Healthiest choice: A baked potato. One potato has

about 1 percent of your daily allowance of fat. Try it with
grated Parmesan cheese and basil.

Istockphoto

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 Non-fiction: Just Junk?

Cola (8 fluid ounces)

One of soft drinks’ main ingredients is high-fructose corn syrup,

which has no nutritional value and, in some studies, has been
linked to obesity.

Istockphoto

Healthier choice: unsweetened iced tea

Istockphoto

Healthiest (and caffeine-free) choice: Mix seltzer water

(¾ of a glass) with 100 percent juice (¼ of the glass), and
add a lemon wedge.

Istockphoto
Candy Bar (2 ounces)

Many candy bars include corn syrup, along with

roughly 14 grams of fat, about 21 percent of your
daily allowance of fat.

Istockphoto Healthier choice: A chocolate mint, which has

only a fraction of a candy bar’s fat, or 1 ounce of
dark chocolate, which contains protective
chemicals called flavonoids

John Klein/Current Health

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 Non-fiction: Just Junk?

Healthiest choice: Peanut butter on graham

crackers, with milk. A tablespoon of peanut butter
has about 8 grams of fat, but this combo is lower
in sugar than the options at left.

Nachos (large size at movie theater)

John Klein/Current
Health The number of calories (about 1,101) and amount
of fat (54 grams) is more than half the amount
your body needs for an entire day!

Istockphoto

Healthier choice: Make your own nachos at home with

baked tortilla chips (they have about 110 calories per
serving) and melted low-fat cheese.

John Klein/Current
Health

Healthiest choice: Whole-wheat crackers (pick a high-

fiber brand) with low-fat cheese

Cheese Curls (1 ounce)

Istockphoto
This snack has a lot of fat (about one-third of your
daily allowance in one serving) and sodium (590
milligrams, or 25 percent of what your body needs
daily).

Istockphoto

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 Non-fiction: Just Junk?

Healthier choice: One serving of unsalted plain

pretzels has about 75 milligrams of sodium, or 3
percent of the recommended daily value.

John Klein/Current
Health Healthiest choice: 3 cups unbuttered, unsalted, air-
popped popcorn, which has 3 milligrams of sodium
and 3.6 grams of good-for-you fiber

Istockphoto

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Used by permission.
 Questions: Just Junk?

Name: _____________ Date: _______________________

1. Food that qualifies as junk may contain a lot of the following EXCEPT

A sugar
B fat
C salt
D milk

2. How do fries, a fast-food restaurant salad, and a baked potato compare to each other?

A The salad has more fat than the fries have.

B The fries have less fat than the potato has.
C The potato has much less fat than the fries have.
D The salad and potato have the same amount of fat.

3. After reading the passage, what can you most likely conclude about junk food?

A Eating junk food doesn’t often lead to health problems.

B Junk food can often be replaced with healthier options.
C Some people feel better after eating lots of junk food.
D Most junk foods are actually healthier than people think.

4. Read this sentence from the passage: “After doing an internship at a health food
company, Jordyn became a teen health ambassador at her school.”

In this sentence, the word ambassador means

A a medical expert
B a replacement
C a literary author
D a representative

5. Why does the author include the first paragraph (“You know you shouldn’t eat junk
food…”) in the passage?

A to include an expert opinion about junk food

B to explain the health risks of eating junk food
C to persuade teenagers to give up junk food
D to describe what kinds of junk food teens crave

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 Questions: Just Junk?

6. According to the passage, what health problems can eating too much junk food lead
to?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

7. Jordyn L. cut out junk food from her diet and now encourages other students to do
the same. In what ways might her work benefit others? Cite evidence from the text to
support your answer.

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

8. The question below is an incomplete sentence. Choose the word that best completes
the sentence.

Making homemade nachos with baked tortilla chips and low-fat cheese can be a
healthier alternative ______ eating nachos made at a restaurant.

A as
B to
C or
D like

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 Questions: Just Junk?

9. Answer the following questions based on the sentence below.

In New York City, many restaurant diners were surprised by the calorie counts that
chain restaurants are required to display.

Who? many restaurant diners

(were) What? ___________________________________________________________

Where? ________________________________________________________________

10. Vocabulary Word: nutrients: foods or other substances that provide nourishment
to the body.

Use the vocabulary word in a sentence: ______________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

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 Teacher Guide & Answers: Just Junk?

Teacher Guide & Answers

Passage Reading Level: Lexile 1150

Featured Text Structure: Compare/Contrast – the writer presents similarities and differences between
two or more objects, places, events, or ideas

Passage Summary: “Just Junk?” compares and contrasts some popular junk foods with some healthier
options.

1. Food that qualifies as junk may contain a lot of the following EXCEPT

A sugar
B fat
C salt
D milk

2. How do fries, a fast-food restaurant salad, and a baked potato compare to each other?

A The salad has more fat than the fries have.

B The fries have less fat than the potato has.
C The potato has much less fat than the fries have.
D The salad and potato have the same amount of fat.

3. After reading the passage, what can you most likely conclude about junk food?

A Eating junk food doesn’t often lead to health problems.

B Junk food can often be replaced with healthier options.
C Some people feel better after eating lots of junk food.
D Most junk foods are actually healthier than people think.

4. Read this sentence from the passage: “After doing an internship at a health food company, Jordyn
became a teen health ambassador at her school.”

In this sentence, the word ambassador means

A a medical expert
B a replacement
C a literary author
D a representative

5. Why does the author include the first paragraph (“You know you shouldn’t eat junk food…”) in the
passage?

A to include an expert opinion about junk food

B to explain the health risks of eating junk food
C to persuade teenagers to give up junk food
D to describe what kinds of junk food teens crave

1
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 Teacher Guide & Answers: Just Junk?

6. According to the passage, what health problems can eating too much junk food lead to?

Suggested answer: According to the passage, eating too much junk food can lead to obesity, heart
disease, and diabetes. [paragraph 3]

7. Jordyn L. cut out junk food from her diet and now encourages other students to do the same. In what
ways might her work benefit others? Cite evidence from the text to support your answer.

Suggested answer: Jordyn’s work may benefit students by getting them to eat healthier. In turn, they
might feel better [paragraph 4] and lower their chances of health problems since junk food can lead to
“obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.” [paragraph 3]

8. The question below is an incomplete sentence. Choose the word that best completes the sentence.

Making homemade nachos with baked tortilla chips and low-fat cheese can be a healthier alternative
______ eating nachos made at a restaurant.

A as
B to
C or
D like

9. Answer the following questions based on the sentence below.

In New York City, many restaurant diners were surprised by the calorie counts that chain restaurants are
required to display.

Who? many restaurant diners

(were) What? were surprised by the calorie counts that chain restaurants are required to display

Where? in New York City

10. Vocabulary Word: nutrients: foods or other substances that provide nourishment to the body.

Use the vocabulary word in a sentence: answers may vary.

2
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