Junk food

Junk food is a derogatory term for processed food such as potato chips and other carbohydrate- and fat-rich food. Typically, junk food is highly seasoned with salt and/or sugar, and may be artificially colored. A typical junk food beverage ("soft drink") is carbonated water with copious amounts of corn syrup sweetener, caffeine, and caramel coloring.

Junk foods are heavily advertised on television by pop culture icons such as Britney Spears.

Junk food is relatively cheap to manufacture, and has a lot of flavor because of its high salt or sugar content. Junk food usually has little or no nutritional value.

Junk food and other rich food is believed to have led to an epidemic of deadly noncommunicable diseases in susceptible populations called New World Syndrome.

See also: fast food.