Rense: 30% of US Children Will Eat Fast Food Today

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30% Of US Children Will Eat Fast Food Today

By Andre Picard

Public Health Reporter

The Globe and Mail

1-9-4

 

 

On any given day, one in every three children eats a fast-food meal

at McDonald's, Burger King and the like, according to a new U.S.

study.

 

The children who eat fast food consume, on average, an additional

187 calories daily, the researchers found.

 

While that may not sound like much -- it's the equivalent of a

medium soft drink -- it translates into an additional six pounds a

year in excess body weight and goes a long way toward explaining the

skyrocketing rates of childhood obesity.

 

The new research, published in today's edition of the journal

Pediatrics, tracked the dietary habits of 6,212 children aged 4-19

over almost five years. Children and their parents reported what the

children had eaten over a period of 24 hours.

 

On a typical day, 30.3 per cent reported eating meals purchased at

fast-food establishments, defined as places without table service.

 

Respondents were asked to specify the types of fast food they ate --

burgers, fries, pizza and other fat-laden foods -- but weren't asked

to identify the establishments.

 

Other sources for children's meals included supermarkets,

cafeterias, soup kitchens, farmers' markets and bars.

 

" Fast food has become a prominent feature of the diet of children, "

said David Ludwig, director of the obesity program at Children's

Hospital Boston, and lead author of the study.

 

Dr. Ludwig said children who routinely eat fast-food meals consume

not only more calories, but also more fat (including trans fats),

more sugar, more salt; they also eat fewer vegetables, consume less

fibre and drink less milk.

 

" On a typical day that fast food is eaten, children consume

substantially more energy and have worse dietary quality than a

typical day without fast food, " he said.

 

The researcher noted that in 1970, fast food accounted for less than

2 per cent of the caloric intake (or energy) of children; by the

early 1990s, it accounted for more than 10 per cent; the new

research shows that, today, children are getting up to 38 per cent

of their energy from burgers, fries and other fatty foods.

 

Dr. Ludwig said that while fast food is not the sole factor in the

exploding girth of children, there is no doubt that " fast-food

consumption adversely affects dietary factors linked to obesity

risk. "

 

He pointed to an earlier study that showed that children who eat

fast food more than twice a week are 86 per cent more likely to end

up obese than those who rarely or never consume fast food.

 

While the research was conducted in the United States, researchers

said the findings are applicable in Canada, where fast-food

consumption patterns are similar.

 

The U.S. government surveys which provided the raw data did not

include questions about body weight so researchers could not make a

direct link between fast-food consumption and weight.

 

But, in an accompanying editorial in the same edition of Pediatrics,

Kelly Brownell, an obesity researcher at Yale University, said the

data provide more damning evidence that regular fast-food

consumption leads to greater calorie intake and markedly increases

the risk of obesity.

 

In particular, Dr. Brownell denounced a report published in July by

the U.S. National Chamber of Commerce that concluded that fast-food

restaurants " are not the chief culprit in the fattening of America. "

She said this claim was " reminiscent of the early claims by the

tobacco industry " that tobacco was not harmful to people's health.

 

Dr. Brownell said " children deserve protection from damaging forces "

such as fast- food marketing and too-ready access, such as fast-food

outlets in schools.

 

In a related development, the American Academy of Pediatrics

yesterday called for the sale of soft drinks to be banned in all

schools, saying they are a principal factor in childhood obesity and

tooth decay.

 

In a policy statement published in Pediatrics, the influential group

said that only unsweetened fruit juices, water and milk should be

offered for sale in school cafeterias and vending machines.

 

© 2004 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. .

 

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