Addictive junk food is creating the next health emergency by leading a growing number of Americans to obesity. Officials warn that addictive junk food is becoming a national problem and health epidemic.

An increasing number of studies have uncovered on the harmful effects of sugary, salty, and fatty foods. Health officials are taking the opportunity to warn the public about the danger of addictive junk food.

Officials caution that if the obesity problem continues to grow, the next generation of Americans will overwhelmingly suffer from illnesses like heart disease and diabetes, which will put a health and financial burden on the government and nation as a whole.

A soon-to-be-released book is being published to address the health crisis caused by junk food.

Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us is set to be published later this month. The book looks at how corporate officials within the food-manufacturing world accepted the effects of junk food.

The New York Times reported on the book and outlined certain shocking statistics, "More than half of American adults were now considered overweight, with nearly one-quarter of the adult population - 40 million people - clinically defined as obese. Among children, the rates had more than doubled since 1980, and the number of kids considered obese had shot past 12 million. (This was still only 1999; the nation's obesity rates would climb much higher.)"

"Food manufacturers were now being blamed for the problem from all sides - academia, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society. The secretary of agriculture, over whom the industry had long held sway, had recently called obesity a "national epidemic," the passage concluded.

A 2012 study confirmed that the health problems could result from excessively eating addictive junk food.

In the study, reported by Live Science, rats given a junk food diet became anxious and depressed when switched back to a regular healthy diet.

The public has come to heated debates over addictive junk food, with battles taking place to limit access to calorie-rich foods in certain cities and within schools.

In March, the New York City ban on soft drinks in quantities over 16 ounces will take effect, marking an important milestone in legislation limiting addictive junk food and combat the health epidemic.