Health experts are beginning to frown upon pizza parties since American kids are consuming way too much of the high-calorie food, according to a new study.
A team of researchers reviewed questionnaires about the diets of children and teens ages 2 to 19, that were completed every two years between 2003 and 2010.
The researchers found that on any given day, 20 percent of children eat pizza. On these pizza-eating days, children also consumed more salt, calories and saturated fat than usual, reported Live Science.
This finding mirrors the health effects of children who eat fast food.
"Parents should aim to curb pizza consumption, particularly as a snack where it was shown to have the largest adverse impact on children's [calorie] intake, and they should put their pizza dollars toward healthier brands," study co-author Lisa Powel, director of the Illinois Prevention Research Center, told Live Science.
While pizza isn't the healthiest choice for children to consume on a regular basis, Alexis Tindall, a clinical dietitian from Ohio (who was not involved with the study), told Live Science the findings highlight a larger issue with the modern American lifestyle. She said Americans generally tend to eat many unhealthy foods too frequently in too large of portions.
"Make it at home, instead of ordering it out where you don't have any control over how it's made," Tindall suggested. "When we make it at home we can choose healthier toppings, increase the vegetables and lean proteins, and put less cheese...Pizza doesn't have to be just pepperoni and cheese."
The study was published Jan. 19 in the journal Pediatrics.
