Is an hour’s workout enough?

Experts say junk foods are contributing to metabolic disorders like obesity, high blood pressure and insulin resistance

The American Heart Association journal found that people who consume junk food even once a week increase their risk of developing coronary heart disease by twenty percent.The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has now proposed to put a curb on advertisements and promotion unhealthy food in school premises and fifty metres around it.Many believe that a workout session triggered by guilt after consuming junk food is enough to reverse the damage. Experts say this is not true.Junk foods are major contributors to metabolic disorders like obesity, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, PCOD and childhood obesity, which is on the rise.Ayesha Rehman, a dietician, says intake of excessively refined food undermines the benefits of workouts.After an intense workout, your body requires proteins for the lost muscle mass, where as refined food contributes to the deposition of fat.Losing on proteins and acquiring fat in its place is not healthy for the body, she says.Lisa Sarah John, a nutritionist, says french fries, cold drinks and chaats cannot be a substitute for a meal. This results in a loss of essential nutrients and your body would not be able to endure a brisk workout. This pattern of workout would only weaken people and make them prone to various infections, she says.She adds that three proper meals with a balanced diet of proteins and carbohydrates are a prerequisite for any workout session.Without this, there would be muscle loss and a weakening of the immune system.Fitness trainer Vipin from O2 Fitness says people with diabetes show less interest in workout as their body easily succumbs to lethargy.He says each individual has a different capacity for how much junk food their body can digest and this limit should not be exceeded.