One in Three Kids Eats Fast Food on Any Given Day
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iStock/Thinkstock(ATLANTA) — For the first time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released new data shedding light on fast food consumption among American kids. And basically, a lot of our kids are eating a lot of fast food.
Findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey show from 2011 to 2012, more than a third of children and adolescents ages 2-19 consumed fast food on a given day.
While no significant differences in caloric intake from fast food were found based on gender, poverty status or weight, there were differences seen among kids of different ages and ethnicities. For example, adolescents aged 12 to 19 ate twice the average daily percentage of calories from fast food than did their younger counterparts. In other words, the older kids got, the more fast food they ate, which may reflect poor dietary choices in teenagers.
Research also showed Asian children had lower caloric intake from fast food when compared to white, black and Hispanic kids.
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