Fast Food Not Major Cause Behind Childhood Obesity: Study

Fast food may not be the key factor in the rapid increase in childhood obesity, finds study.

The study found that fast-food consumption is simply a byproduct of a much bigger problem: poor all-day-long dietary habits that originate in children's homes.

Mantra to Prevent Childhood Obesity - Vigorous Physical Activity
Being physically very active is the mantra to prevent pediatric obesity rather than concentrating efforts at restricting energy consumption.

The study was produced by researchers at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Gillings School of Global Public Health.

The study's researchers found that children's consumption of fast food is only a small part of a much more pervasive dietary pattern that is fostered at an early age by children's parents and caregivers.

The pattern includes few fruits and vegetables, relying instead on high amounts of processed food and sugar-sweetened beverages. These food choices also are reinforced in the meals students are offered at school.

Childhood Obesity - Criteria - Causes - Complications, Treatment
Childhood obesity is one of the most serious health challenges in the developing countries and needs to be understood and tackled effectively.

"This is really what is driving children's obesity," Barry Popkin, PhD, W.R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor of nutrition at UNC's Gillings School of Global Public Health, whose team led the study, said.

"Eating fast foods is just one behavior that results from those bad habits. 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," he said.

Fast Foods
Fast foods contain as much as 500 calories per serve which is even higher than the calories that a lunch or dinner should provide. Majority of Indians have a flawed perception of healthy food options.

The study is published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Source-ANI

Quiz on Obesity

“We are indeed much more than what we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to be much more than what we are”. - Adelle Davis

There are thousands out there battling ‘the bulge’. With childhood obesity on the rise even children are not spared. If your weight issues are threatening to weigh you down learn more about obesity by taking part in this quiz.