Childhood Obesity: Your Kid Is Eating Too Much Fast Food

Kids love fast food; so much so, that 12 percent are scarfing down hamburgers and pizza daily.

A new government report shows that children and teens alike just can't get enough of these foods that are heavy in calories and low in nutritional value. 

Though there's been somewhat of a stabilization when it comes to childhood obesity in the last decade, children still get about 17 percent of their daily food intake from fast food, increasing their risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other related health problems.

In this recent study, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) asked about 3,100 children ages 2 through 19 and their parents from 2011 and 2012 what they ate within the past 24 hours. Researchers found certain racial and ethnic disparities among those who consumed fast food and those who didn't. 

Black, white and Hispanic youth all received close to the same proportion of calories from fast food. However, Asians had a lower average, at about 8 percent.

"Previous studies have reported that acculturation to the U.S. lifestyle plays an important role in the addition of unhealthy behaviors, such as fast food consumption, in Asian-American and other immigrant groups," the authors of the study noted, in a news release.

However, researchers found no significant difference between kids in families of different income levels.

A proper diet and exercise are incredibly important for children and teens, particularly during developmental periods of life. Being overweight as a child or a teenager can increase chances of unhealthy problems during adulthood and childhood obesity still remains a significant health issue in the United States. If your child is dealing with weight issues, talk with your doctor about how to help. 

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