Health & Medicine
American Kids Are Eating Less Fast Food, New Health Information Shows
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Mar 30, 2015 06:29 PM EDT
New findings published in JAMA Pediatrics show that children may be eating less of their favorite fast-food goodies, ranging from chicken nuggets to burgers and fries.
"Most prior studies have focused on menu items, but this (one) actually looked at what children are eating," coauthor Colin D. Rehm, formerly of the University of Washington in Seattle and now of Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts said, via Reuters. "The take-home message is that changes can be made, whether they are due to consumer preference or due to what the restaurants have done themselves. It shows that change is possible."
Researchers found that children consuming fast food on most days dropped consumption rates by about 38.8 percent seen in 2003 to 32.6 percent between 2009 and 2010, based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2003 to 2010.
Findings also revealed that little ones may be consuming less of their favorite high calorie treats at their brand-name burger joint or eating smaller portion sizes of pizza or unhealthy snacks. In fact, they found a total of 12.2 percent of children in the study ordered food and beverages from pizza restaurants between 2003 and 2004, with the percentage dropping to just about 6.4 percent from 2004 to 2010.
"We observed a decrease in calories for burger, pizza and chicken restaurants," added Rehm, now a nutrition scientist at Tufts University in Boston. "We did not observe any changes for sandwich or Mexican restaurants."
However, researchers also noted that the perceived decrease in children's pizza consumption at restaurants may have also been linked to an overall decrease in pizza sales seen between 2003 and 2010.
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
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First Posted: Mar 30, 2015 06:29 PM EDT
New findings published in JAMA Pediatrics show that children may be eating less of their favorite fast-food goodies, ranging from chicken nuggets to burgers and fries.
"Most prior studies have focused on menu items, but this (one) actually looked at what children are eating," coauthor Colin D. Rehm, formerly of the University of Washington in Seattle and now of Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts said, via Reuters. "The take-home message is that changes can be made, whether they are due to consumer preference or due to what the restaurants have done themselves. It shows that change is possible."
Researchers found that children consuming fast food on most days dropped consumption rates by about 38.8 percent seen in 2003 to 32.6 percent between 2009 and 2010, based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2003 to 2010.
Findings also revealed that little ones may be consuming less of their favorite high calorie treats at their brand-name burger joint or eating smaller portion sizes of pizza or unhealthy snacks. In fact, they found a total of 12.2 percent of children in the study ordered food and beverages from pizza restaurants between 2003 and 2004, with the percentage dropping to just about 6.4 percent from 2004 to 2010.
"We observed a decrease in calories for burger, pizza and chicken restaurants," added Rehm, now a nutrition scientist at Tufts University in Boston. "We did not observe any changes for sandwich or Mexican restaurants."
However, researchers also noted that the perceived decrease in children's pizza consumption at restaurants may have also been linked to an overall decrease in pizza sales seen between 2003 and 2010.
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone