Why are kids obese? Junk food makes up 27% of their daily calories
Image by PinkMoose via Flickr
According to a new study out of the University of North Carolina, upwards of a third of all the calories consumed each day by our nation’s children are from junk food. Chips, candy, soda, rinse, repeat.
More distressing, the researchers found that the amount of snackage has grown since 1977 to the tune of 168 extra calories per day in the average diet.
“To put 168 extra calories per day in perspective: at 3,500 calories per pound that translates to 17.5 extra pounds a year,” said Dr. Jon LaPook, a CBS medical correspondent.
Is it any wonder, with kids putting on an additional 17.5 pounds due to increased junk food consumption, that obesity rates have seen a commensurate rise? No, it is not.
Parents, get a clue.
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David,
There are so many contributing factors to childhood and the overall population obesity, that it seems almost unfair to call-out any one in particular.
Fast food could be the villain and it might seem reasonable to criticize McDonald’s commercials that ran during the olympics. Or PTA’s could ban soda machines from school property, or food-courts from high school cafeterias. We could even legislate a mandatory weigh-in and BMI screening to buy a wii! But like so many of the crisis we’re facing, personal responsibility is the ultimate argument.
It’s not the place to start with kids, but perhaps admonishing the parents and making nutritional counseling mandatory would have an impact. As we move toward a broader national health care system, it’s frightening to think that diabetes treatment is going to become every American’s inalienable right – and regardless of the choices they’ve made along the way.
If people just lived unhealthy lives and died early it would be darwinian, but because we have the medical know-how to prolong life and pass the expense on to those who continue to work and pay taxes, it seems like the scales of fairness are tipped!
JoPo,
True enough. Though the factors you also site–McDonalds and soda–would also qualify as the junk snacks that this study targets.
I saw a Tweet from Thomas Goetz (whose new book The Decision Tree is worth a look) the other day that was noting a drop in life expectancy in various parts of the country (those where obesity is rampant). Maybe Natural Selection will trump scientific advancement, after all.