Kids and Junk Food: New Research Suggests Strong Correlation
Today, ABC reported that junk food is about half a kids’ caloric intake:
“Researchers from the National Cancer Institute found that nearly 40 percent of calories consumed by children ages 2 to 18 were empty calories, the unhealthiest kind of calories.”
Half of these calories came from the following six foods:
- Soda
- Sugary fruit drinks
- Grain desserts, such as cake, cookies and donuts
- Dairy desserts such as ice cream
- Pizza
- Whole milk
The big debate, as posed in the ABC article, is where the blame lies. Is it the manufacturers fault for making “bad” food taste good? Or are parents to blame in making poor food choices for their little ones? Education, or lack thereof, may also play a role.
My personal belief is that at some point in time, the buck stops here. I see commercials for McDonald’s every day of my life, but that doesn’t mean I have to race out to the big arches and pick up a happy meal for my little boy, Luke. In fact, I am trying to avoid this predicament for as long as humanly possible.
I’m doing what I can to teach Luke about ingredients lists on packages, what’s healthy and not, and why he should eat his veggies at dinner. Perhaps this is why he’s the self-proclaimed “nutrients man!” Though we laugh at him when he suggests that chocolate chip cookies “contain lots of nutrients,” at least conceptually understands what I’m trying to teach him. And he’s a pretty darn adventurous and healthy eater as a result.
What do you think? Where does the blame lie?
I am a big believer that cooking healthy, whole foods at home is one HUGE way we can positively influence our children’s eating habits – as well as our own!!. As such, I would be most appreciative if you could take 2-3 minutes to fill out the questionnaire below about your cooking habits/obstacles. You need not be married with kids to provide valuable input!
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7CYPL79
Thanks so much!
My two boys are 11 and 15 and I do not buy them sodas and due to my constant weight goals and challenges, I do not keep crap food in the house. However, there is a soda machine down the road from us and when they have money in their pockets, they frequent it. My youngest especially will go play with friends in the neighborhood and come home with cake or something. They are permitted to buy lunch at school two days a week and my 15 year old will always use that day to buy pizza. Am I a bad parent? I don't think so. And at some point they have to make their own decisions. I monitor as much as I can with what I buy, but they do have some freedoms. I lead by example but they don't get it yet. 
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I would love to take your survey but I don’t have any kids! So my results probably wouldn’t help you out much.
I can tell you that my mom made it point while I was growing up to cook meals at home. Going out to eat was a treat. Of course, that didn’t stop me from eating pizza for lunch every day for a year in high school so make of that what you will.
Here in the UK, we have it easier in some ways, and harder in others! On the one hand, we don’t seem to have quite the range and quantity of bad food here – if you grab a jar of the cheapest pasta sauce, for example, the scariest ingredients on the list are cornstarch and citric acid. We are more inclined to cook from scratch, as the produce and unprocessed food sections of the supermarket are just as large as the convenience and packet food areas.
However, if we don’t feel like cooking then we’re more inclined to go for a high-fat, low-quality take-out meal, as eating out is much much more expensive than in the US.
You don’t need to be a mom to take the survey! Single ladies (and men!) are busy, too.
That’s very interesting. I assumed eating out would actually cost more in the UK than US.
I wish I had fed my boys better from the get go!
Sorry – that was poorly written of me – I mean eating out in the UK is much more expensive, so if we don’t want to cook, we don’t get to go to a nice restaurant as easily.
My two boys are 11 and 15 and I do not buy them sodas and due to my constant weight goals and challenges, I do not keep crap food in the house. However, there is a soda machine down the road from us and when they have money in their pockets, they frequent it. My youngest especially will go play with friends in the neighborhood and come home with cake or something. They are permitted to buy lunch at school two days a week and my 15 year old will always use that day to buy pizza. Am I a bad parent? I don’t think so. And at some point they have to make their own decisions. I monitor as much as I can with what I buy, but they do have some freedoms. I lead by example but they don’t get it yet.