Children may be cutting back on fast food and unhealthy meals such as pizza, burgers, and chicken nuggets.
A new study found the number of children consuming fast food on any given day dropped from the 38.8 percent seen in 2003 to 32.6 percent between 2009 and 2010, the JAMA Network Journals reported.
"Most prior studies have focused on menu items, but this (one) actually looked at what children are eating," coauthor Colin D. Rehm, formerly of the University of Washington in Seattle and now of Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts told Reuters. "The take-home message is that changes can be made, whether they are due to consumer preference or due to what the restaurants have done themselves. It shows that change is possible."
The findings were based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2003 to 2010, which looks at trends in children's calorie consumption by fast food restaurant type.
The findings also showed calorie intake from "burger, pizza and chicken fast food restaurants" decreased. On the other hand, children's consumption of food from Mexican and sandwich fast food restaurants appeared to remain consistent over the observed study period. A total of 12.2 percent of children looked at in the study ordered food and beverages from pizza restaurants between 2003 and 2004, and this percentage dropped to only 6.4 percent in the 2009 to 2010 range.
The researchers noted the perceived decrease in calories consumed by children at pizza restaurants may be linked to an overall decrease in pizza sales seen between 2003 and 2010.
"No fast food market segment experienced a significant increase in energy [calories] during the [eight]-year study," the study concluded.
The findings were published in a recent edition of the journal JAMA Pediatrics.
