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You Eat Junk Food

Most of us know that junk food is unhealthy. We know that poor nutrition is related to heart problems, high blood pressure, and a host of other health ailments. You might even know that studies show that eating junk food has been linked to increases in depression.

But if it's so bad for us, why do we keep doing it?

There is an answer. And the science behind it will surprise you.

Why We Crave Junk Food

Steven Witherly is a food scientist who has spent the last 20 years studying what makes certain foods more addictive (and tasty) than others. Much of the science that follows is from his excellent report, Why Humans Like Junk Food.

According to Witherly, when you eat tasty food, there are two factors that make the experience pleasurable.

First, there is the sensation of eating the food. This includes what it tastes like (salty, sweet, umami, etc.), what it smells like, and how it feels in your mouth. This last quality — known as “orosensation” — can be particularly important. Food companies will spend millions of dollars to discover the most satisfying level of crunch in a potato chip. Their scientists will test for the perfect amount of fizzle in a soda. These factors all combine to create the sensation that your brain associates with a particular food or drink.

The second factor is the actual macronutrient makeup of the food — the blend of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates that it contains. In the case of junk food, food manufacturers are looking for a perfect combination of salt, sugar, and fat that excites your brain and gets you coming back for more.

Here's how they do it…

How Science Creates Cravings

There are a range of factors that scientists and food manufacturers use to make food more addictive.

Dynamic contrast. Dynamic contrast refers to a combination of different sensations in the same food. In the words of Witherly, foods with dynamic contrast have “an edible shell that goes crunch followed by something soft or creamy and full of taste-active compounds. This rule applies to a variety of our favorite food structures — the caramelized top of a creme brulee, a slice of pizza, or an Oreo cookie — the brain finds crunching through something like this very novel and thrilling.”

The Day
External Tests or University Exams?

All eleventh-graders who wanted to participate in the first trial testing did it on March 13.

They all expect that they will enter higher educational establishments based on test results. But the recent statements of Volodymyr Semynozhenko , the newly-appointed vice prime minister for cultural issues, raises doubts about it. He said that already this year secondary education certificates will be considered while entering higher educational establishments and that, in addition to tests, high-school graduates will take exams again. In other words, tests are good, but exams are in force, too.
According to the data of the Ukrainian Education Quality Assessment Center, almost everything is ready for this year's entrance campaign — over 300,000 people are registered to take part in it (70 percent of the total population of high-school graduates); the tests have been printed; higher educational establishments have worked out the rules for the admission of high-school graduates; and tests dates have been set. Changing anything in this well-organized scheme is not only purposeless, but also unprofessional, experts suggest. If entrance exams are introduced in higher educational establishments, there is a question: Will they have enough time to get ready for them? In addition, what is the, point of the external independent testing if each university is to return to traditional exams? Another dilemma is this: Will students have enough time to prepare for the exams in the remaining two months until the end of the academic year? Thus the work of educators done in recent years is brought to nothing. Moreover, the opinion of 80 percent of parents and students who, according to sociological research, support the independent testing is ignored.