A new study debunks the belief that fast food is responsible for the increasing childhood obesity rates in the United States. The research says that it is rather the poor all-day-long diet that is a major contributor to this disorder.
For years now, unhealthy eating habits of children have been blamed for the rising childhood obesity rates in the United States. Many experts blame fast food for being the major culprit but a new study conducted by the University of North Carolina found this couldn't be further from the truth.
The researchers found that the biggest contributor to childhood obesity was poor all-day-long dietary habits that originate in children's homes.
"This is really what is driving children's obesity," said Barry Popkin, PhD, W.R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor of nutrition in a press statement. "Eating fast foods is just one behavior that results from those bad habits. Just because children who eat more fast food are the most likely to become obese does not prove that calories from fast foods bear the brunt of the blame."
He highlighted that American children are brought up in a culinary environment that includes less fruits and vegetables and more processed and fast food. This also shapes their tastes buds, slowly accustoming them to inculcate fast foods as their main diet of the day.
For the study, researchers examined data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2007-2010, which included information about dietary intake in 4,466 of ages 2-18 years. This also included the evaluation of whether foods and beverages were taken from fast food establishments or elsewhere. All the children were then categorized into three groups:
- Non-consumers of fast food - 50 percent of the children
- low consumers (less than or equal to 30 percent of calories from fast foods) - 40 percent of the children
- high consumers (more than30 percent of calories from fast foods) - 10 percent of the children
"The study presented strong evidence that the children's diet beyond fast- food consumption is more strongly linked to poor nutrition and obesity," said Jennifer Poti, doctoral candidate in UNC's Department of Nutrition and co-author of the study. "While reducing fast-food intake is important, the rest of a child's diet should not be overlooked."
Though the consumption of fast food does contribute to childhood obesity, researchers claim that understanding the underlying contributor to this disorder can help tackle this problem in a better manner. It can also help inculcate healthier eating habits in kids and alert parents that giving them too much processed food is injurious to their health later in life.
A study conducted last May revealed that the salt content in processed and restaurant food continues to be high. Excess consumption of sodium results in approximately 150,000 deaths in the U.S each year. More than 90 percent of Americans reportedly consume high levels of salt daily, which is known to cause high blood pressure, which in turn increases the risks of strokes and other health diseases.
The finding is reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
