Junk food refers to foods which are low in nutritional value and are high in calories, saturated fats, added sugar and salts. The current study was carried out to determine the Prevalence of junk food consumption in school going children aged 12-16 years old in District Mardan. A detail information about gender, Height, weight, Daily pocket money, Awareness level of students, fast food consumption, type of fast food consumed, frequency of consumption and the role of advertisements were collected from the students. The overall prevalence of junk food was found to be 90%. The gender wise analysis showed that the prevalence of junk food was dominant in female students (64%) as compared to male students (26%). Majority (45.5%) of the students were in underweight category based on their calculated Body Mass Index (BMI). The results showed that the type of junk food mostly consumed by the students was fast foods (46%) followed by any chips (28%), soft drinks (7%) and candies (9%). 59.5% students agreed to the effect of advertisements in attracting them towards junk food. 37.5% students were aware of the harmful effects of junk foods. 67.5% of the students were consuming junk food because of its taste. 45% of the students were consuming junk food twice and more than 5 times a week while the daily pocket money of majority (45%) of the students was between 41-70 Rs.

Index Terms- Key Words: Junk food, Nutritional Value, Calories, Saturated fats, Added sugar and salt Prevalence, Body Mass Index, fast foods.