Fast Food Not Main Culprit in Rising Childhood Obesity Rates

A new study suggests that fast-food consumption (FFC) is a consequence of poor dietary habits that originate in the children’s homes.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina (UNC; Chapel Hill, USA) conducted a cross-sectional cluster analysis of 4,466 children (aged 2–18 years) participating in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 2007 and 2010. The researchers identified two dietary patterns for the non-FFC portion of food intake, defining them as Western (50.3%) and Prudent. They then examined the association between FFC and dietary pattern for the remainder of food intake, and estimated independent associations between dietary outcomes and overweight or obesity.

The results revealed that half of US children consumed fast food: 39.5% were low-consumers and 10.5% were high-consumers (over 30% of energy). Consuming a Western dietary pattern for the remainder of intake was more likely among fast food low-consumers and high-consumers than among non-consumers. The remainder of dietary intake was independently associated with overweight/obesity, whereas FFC was not, and the remainder of dietary intake had stronger associations with poor total intake than did FFC. The study was published in the January 2014 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

“Children who rely on fast foods may tend to have parents who do not have the means, desire, or time to purchase or prepare healthy foods at home,” said lead author Professor of nutrition Barry Popkin, PhD. “This is really what is driving children’s obesity and what needs to be addressed in any solution. 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.”

Fast food is only a small part of a much more pervasive dietary pattern that is fostered at an early age by many children’s parents and caregivers. The pattern includes few fruits and vegetables on a regular basis, relying instead on high amounts of processed food and sugar-sweetened beverages. These food choices are also often reinforced in the meals students are offered at school.

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