A1 Level – Elementary
1. What is your favorite junk food?
2. Do you eat fast food often?
3. What is a common sweet junk food?
4. What drink is unhealthy?
5. Do you like chips or crackers?
6. Do you think junk food tastes good?
7. What happens to your body when you eat too much junk food?
8. What is the difference between junk food and healthy food?
9. Do you eat junk food when you watch a movie?
10. What is a common topping for a pizza?
11. Do you hide your junk food?
12. What makes you crave junk food?
13. Is it hard to stop eating junk food?
14. What are the colors of common junk food packaging?
15. What are common junk food snacks at a party?
A2 Level – Pre-Intermediate
1. What are the key differences between a healthy meal and a fast-food meal?
2. Describe one unhealthy food you refuse to give up, and why.
3. What are the pros and cons of allowing junk food advertising during children’s shows?
4. What role does stress or boredom play in causing junk food cravings?
5. Have you ever tried to completely eliminate junk food from your diet?
6. What specific ingredients make junk food so addictive?
7. What is the difference between a small indulgence and a regular unhealthy habit?
8. What are common ways people try to make junk food slightly healthier (e.g., air frying)?
9. How does the convenience and low cost of fast food affect people’s diet choices?
10. What are the biggest health risks associated with a steady diet of highly processed food?
11. What is the importance of “cheat days” or allowing yourself small treats?
12. Do you think junk food companies should be taxed more heavily?
13. What are the challenges of resisting junk food when you are traveling?
14. What are the best ways to satisfy a craving for something sweet or salty healthily?
15. What is the difference between emotional eating and eating out of physical hunger?
B1 Level – Intermediate
1. Discuss the difficulty of finding healthy, affordable food options in low-income neighborhoods.
2. How can parents educate their children about making responsible choices regarding junk food?
3. What are the ethical issues surrounding the massive global waste generated by the fast-food industry?
4. Do you agree that the problem with junk food is mainly a lack of willpower, or is it systemic?
5. Describe a time when cutting out junk food had a noticeable positive effect on your energy or mood.
6. To what extent should governments regulate the nutritional content of mass-produced snack foods?
7. What role does peer pressure play in the consumption of junk food among teenagers?
8. How do cultural traditions surrounding food (e.g., celebratory meals) conflict with modern health advice?
9. Discuss the psychological comfort derived from eating food high in sugar, salt, and fat.
10. What are the challenges of resisting marketing and advertisements for appealing junk food products?
11. How does the rise of food delivery services make it easier to indulge in unhealthy choices?
12. Should vending machines in schools be banned from selling junk food?
13. What is the difference between feeling guilty after eating junk food and simply moving on?
14. Discuss the concept of “intuitive eating” versus strict calorie counting for managing diet.
15. What is the long-term impact of early exposure to highly processed foods on a person’s taste preferences?
B2 Level – Upper-Intermediate
1. How does the constant availability and aggressive marketing of junk food contribute to public health crises like obesity?
2. What are the ethical arguments about the immense profits made by companies that produce and market unhealthy foods?
3. Should governments use taxation and subsidies to make healthy foods significantly cheaper than junk food?
4. What are the psychological reasons why people binge-eat or use food as a primary coping mechanism for stress?
5. How has social media and the “foodie” culture romanticized or normalized the consumption of luxury junk food?
6. Discuss the idea that junk food is fundamentally a symptom of a stressed and time-poor society.
7. What is the role of food science and chemistry in creating hyper-palatable (highly addictive) engineered foods?
8. How do food companies strategically use color, packaging, and branding to appeal to specific demographics?
9. What are the challenges for ethical restaurants that try to offer healthy, high-quality food at a competitive price?
10. Discuss the concept of “food addiction” and whether it should be treated as seriously as substance addiction.
11. What is the difference between a person who is intentionally making a choice and one who is struggling with compulsion?
12. Should doctors and schools be more aggressive in warning the public about the long-term risks of high sugar consumption?
13. What is the impact of low wages and long hours on a worker’s ability to prepare healthy meals?
14. How does the history of food preservation (canning, freezing) relate to the modern concept of junk food?
15. Discuss the idea that everyone has a complex, emotional relationship with food, and it’s not just about nutrition.
C1 Level – Advanced
1. Analyze the socioeconomic factors that correlate with reliance on fast food and processed meals for sustenance.
2. To what degree should the legal system restrict the marketing and sale of highly processed, addictive foods to minors?
3. Discuss the philosophical concept of “hedonism” and how junk food consumption fits into the pursuit of immediate pleasure.
4. Evaluate the efficacy of current nutritional labeling laws in helping consumers make genuinely informed decisions.
5. How does the strategic placement of junk food at grocery store checkouts and gas stations influence impulse buying?
6. Examine the legal challenges of holding food corporations accountable for the long-term public health consequences of their products.
7. What ethical guidelines should govern the development of synthetic and laboratory-grown flavorings used to mimic natural ingredients?
8. Discuss the concept of “food sovereignty” and how dependence on mass-produced food affects local agricultural systems.
9. How do different international bodies (e.g., WHO) attempt to standardize global recommendations for healthy eating?
10. Analyze the interplay between agricultural subsidies and the overproduction of cheap, commodity ingredients (corn, soy) used in junk food.
11. What ethical challenges arise when nutrition science and public health policy are influenced by industry funding?
12. Debate whether the increasing complexity of food chemistry makes it impossible for the average consumer to truly understand what they eat.
13. How does the architecture of shopping malls and food courts prioritize convenience and speed over nutritional value?
14. Discuss the concept of “obesogenic environment”—an environment that encourages unhealthy eating and inactivity.
15. To what extent does the cultural normalization of junk food complicate efforts to promote traditional, healthier diets?
C2 Level – Proficiency
1. How do you analyze the idea that the systematic production of junk food is an issue of political economy, not individual choice?
2. Formulate a critique of the global regulatory failures that allow the continued use of questionable ingredients in mass-produced food.
3. Analyze the intersection of cognitive bias, addiction science, and the deliberate engineering of food for maximum craveability.
4. Discuss the philosophical distinction between “appetite” (natural desire) and “craving” (compulsive desire) in human consumption.
5. Critically evaluate the effectiveness of public health interventions aimed at reducing sugar consumption in vulnerable populations.
6. Propose a new, comprehensive global framework for food safety and labeling that prioritizes nutritional transparency and public health.
7. Examine the psychological function of using food as a form of cultural identity and how that clashes with modern nutritional advice.
8. How does the semiotics of restaurant design (e.g., bright colors, plastic toys) communicate a focus on speed and low cost?
9. Discuss the ethical responsibilities of major food manufacturers concerning the environmental footprint of global sourcing and packaging.
10. Analyze the historical relationship between the rise of the fast-food industry and changes in urban infrastructure and commuting.
11. Articulate the inherent tension between a nation’s culinary freedom and the government’s duty to protect public health from mass addiction.
12. Debate whether personalized nutritional AI will eventually eliminate the public health problem of mass junk food consumption.
13. Assess the long-term societal effects of widespread poor nutrition on national productivity and healthcare systems.
14. Discuss the philosophical definition of ‘nourishment’ and whether junk food can truly fulfill this essential human need.
15. How might the principles of behavior modification used in diet programs be adapted to solve complex organizational change problems?
