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January 5, 2004, 12:01 a.m. EST
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For Further Information:
Bess Andrews
617-355-6420
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Fast foods displace milk, fruits, fiber and non-starchy vegetables while children consume more calories
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On a typical day when children eat fast food, they consume substantially more total calories, with poorer nutritional quality, than on a day when they do not eat fast food, according to a study by researchers from Children's Hospital Boston, the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, and Harvard School of Public Health. Thirty percent of the children in the survey ate fast food on any given day during the survey, and they ate an average of 187 calories a day more than those who did not eat fast food. These additional calories could account for an extra six pounds of weight gain per year, according to senior author David S. Ludwig, director of the Obesity Program at Children's Hospital Boston, and colleagues. The study is published in the January issue of the journal Pediatrics.
The goal of the study was to look at patterns of fast food consumption in children and determine whether fast food adversely affects diet quality in ways that might increase risk for obesity. The study used data from 6,212 children and adolescents surveyed in the Department of Agriculture's Continuing Survey of Food Intake and the Individual Supplemental Children's Survey, conducted between 1994 and 1998. The surveys found that children who ate fast food consumed more total and saturated fat, more total carbohydrates and added sugars, less dietary fiber, and more calories per gram of solid food than children who did not eat fast food (that is, their diets had a higher energy density). In addition, they consumed less milk and fiber, and fewer fruits and non-starchy vegetables.
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Typical fast food meals consist of hamburgers or cheeseburgers, french fries, and sugar-sweetened sodas. They are frequently ''super sized'' at very little additional cost, encouraging children and families to purchase larger portions. These meals, which are high in refined starch and added sugar, have a high glycemic index and glycemic load. The glycemic index refers to the rise in blood glucose occurring after consumption of a food containing carbohydrates. High glycemic diets have been associated with an increase in insulin levels and may contribute to excessive weight gain. In some studies, high glycemic load meals have been shown to increase hunger and thus food consumption over the course of a day. Low glycemic index foods (fruits, whole grains, non-starchy vegetables), which include higher amounts of fiber and complex carbohydrates and fewer calories, have been shown to promote a feeling of fullness and may protect against overeating.
Fast food consumption has risen a startling 5-fold among children since 1970, driven in large part by a multi-billion dollar advertising campaign. There are now an estimated 247,155 fast food restaurants nationwide, and fast food pervades virtually all segments of our communities, including public school cafeterias. The findings of this study, and several other recent reports, suggest that fast food consumption may be contributing to the childhood obesity epidemic. ''Limiting advertisement of fast food to children,'' says Ludwig, ''may be one of the most important public health measures that we can take today.''
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Children's Hospital Boston is home to the world's largest research enterprise based at a pediatric medical center, where its discoveries have benefited both children and adults for over 100 years. More than 500 scientists, including seven members of the National Academy of Sciences, nine members of the Institute of Medicine and nine members of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute comprise Children's research community. Founded in 1869 as a 20-bed hospital for children, Children's Hospital Boston today is a 300-bed comprehensive center for pediatric and adolescent health care grounded in the values of excellence in patient care and sensitivity to the complex needs and diversity of children and families. It is also the primary pediatric teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. For more information about the hospital visit: www.childrenshospital.org.
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