Hot on HuffPost Parents:
Caron Gremont: Obesity's Officially a Disease, So How Come My Child…
Karri-Leigh P. Mastrangelo: Am I Going to Hell For My Position on…
Kids Eating More and More Meals Away From Home
Filed under: In The News, Mealtime
Credit: AP
Have no fear. Researchers have found kids rarely eat at home at all.
They get their nutrition (if you use the word "nutrition" loosely) from fast-food restaurants. And they're going for the large fries.
Coincidentally, there seems to be this obesity epidemic in the United States.
Research in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association points to the increasing amount of food kids take from fast-food restaurants, as well as food that comes fully prepared at grocery stories.
"Overall, this study highlights the continuing rapid shifts in the sources of food for children in the United States -- both where it's eaten and where it's prepared," Barry Popkin, a professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, tells Medical News Today.
"These results underscore the need to deepen our understanding of food preparation and consumption patterns, and further pinpoint where research and programmatic activity should focus," he adds. "The differences in energy intake by eating location revealed in this analysis demonstrate that eating location is an important factor in the diet of American children."
Popkin says American children increased their daily calorie consumption by 179 calories between 1977 and 2006.
His study found that it is linked to a rise in calories consumed away from home -- estimated to be an increase of about 255 calories per day.
In 1977, he estimates kids consumed 23.4 percent of their daily calories away from home, compared with 33.9 percent in 2006.
Your<span>Voice</span>
Ask Us Anything About Parenting
TheTalkies:RelatedVideos
-
Steelton Program Teaches Kids to Eat Better
The students meet once a week to learn new foods and try out recipes -- taste sensations the students may not get at home.
-
Taste of a Distant Home, Minus Chopping
In big cities, there's a new crop of ethnic food delivery services that are aimed at kids of immigrants that grew up eating ethnic foods that they can no longer cook due to lack of ingredients or time. Alina Dizik has details on Lunch Break.
-
Celebrity Bytes: Brad Pitt Splashes Out £5,000 On British Grub
Actor Brad Pitt has reportedly had 5 thousand pounds worth of British grub delivered to his home in the South of France because his kids are refusing to eat local grub.
-
How to Improve Your Kids' Eating Habits
Doctors provide tips on the best ways parents can improve their kids' eating habits.
SitesWeLove
- Site Map
- |
- Staff
- |
- Terms of Service
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Trademarks
- |
- Advertise With Us
- |
- About Our Ads
- |
- AOL Downloads
- |
- Contact Us
- |
© Copyright 2012 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Aol Family
ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
7-27-2011 @ 2:58PM
heldt666 said...Oh, I thought you meant like what country!! I was going to say: In the Somalia weight loss camps. But now I won't.
Reply
7-27-2011 @ 4:07PM
Seth said...Keep letting your kids eat at fast food restaurants and pretty soon they will be looking like all the obese mexican anchor children waddling around in America. Illegal aliens and their children are the reason why America now has such high obesity percentages.
Reply
7-27-2011 @ 5:40PM
athene said...Don't really know if Mexicans are the reason for the US obesity problem, see a lot of fat ass white people in nyc. Here everybody is fat, no discriminating based on race/ethnicity or place of origin.
Think all of us need to push away from the table a lot sooner than we have been doing. Maybe parking our cars and walking more, climbing stairs to the trains might help.
Gardening can help or even helping some in our community to tend their gardens.
I work with about 50 men, ( 2 females) in a physically demanding job, it's help me stay trim and strong, but the men are obese, with large, sagging bellies. Some of them are equal to two normal weight people.
A good way to ensure a healthy meal for children is to make it at home. Use your slow-cooker, plan meals for the week, make desserts more fruit oriented, stop the juice drinking craze and promote sugar free flavored water instead. Get the kids outdoors in all weather, off the couch, away from the computer/computer games. Dance classes are good, sports are excellent...they don't have to be SUPER STARS, just get them to MOVE.
Instead of blaming some ethnic culture for obesity, lets take responsibility and do what we have learned is healthy...eat sensibly, exercise, and find alternatives to our sugar/fat laden diets.
7-27-2011 @ 6:01PM
Jennifer said...Seth I have to agree with you. I live in Florida and of course our schools are busting at the seams due to the rapid breeding illegal aliens that have invaded our state by the millions. My chidren are in elementary and middle schools and it is unbelievable how huge mexican children are, they look like they eat candy and ice cream 24/7 and their parents are just like them its awful to see.
7-27-2011 @ 7:08PM
cher said...The reason why they eat so many meals out of the house is sports. Baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, football, you name it the kids are there.
Reply
7-27-2011 @ 8:06PM
Lana said...Yep wasting time instead of doing productive things. Watching ball games is the equivalent of watching a chess game.
7-27-2011 @ 8:58PM
Laura said...Actually the reason this is an epidemic is because everything is on the go now and the kids are seeing it. They are seeing that the parents are consistently on the go, they are with their friends on the go and it is rare to be at home. Children are also in sports, after school activities and with their friends- soemtimes eating out is the only option. Having someone say that this is an immigrant thing is just appauling- remember we were all descended from immigrants!
Reply
7-28-2011 @ 3:34AM
Anne said...Laura, people live on the go because they have let their lives become exactly that.
They have forgotten the more important part of their lives and have replaced it with activities that separate them from their family.
Kids are in school and parents at work the majority of the day so
dinner is the one meal of the day that should be shared in family.
If baseball or basket ball practice is keeping kids from the most important time they could share with family then that schedule would need some rethinking.
College will come about soon enough and what will those kids take with them on their journey? Bad eating habbits and memories they may never get to build again.
7-27-2011 @ 10:02PM
Darrell Elmore said...When I worked in DC my oldest son still lived with me. We seemed to always have some of his buddies in the apartment when I got home and they would eat with us. I worked in the Pentagon and had long hours but made stuff he could heat and eat if I was late plus he could make the salad and other side dishes. Once I asked about one boy who was there almost every day - my son said we were the only family that ate dinners at home - all his buddies ate out because both parents worked and were never home. We are not obese.
Reply
7-27-2011 @ 11:06PM
James said...it's because a lot of people do not know how to cook anymore. it's either eat at micky d's or have cereal every day
Reply
7-27-2011 @ 11:19PM
keysdiesel2 said...Maybe if they tax all the fast food establishments, like the cigarette companies and smokers it would slow down the lazy parents feeding there kids that crap. And maybe the obesity problem in the U.S would go away also. The problem is also most parents don,t seem to know what a kitchen is anymore.
Reply
7-28-2011 @ 3:12AM
Squiggles said...If I take my 4 kids out to McD's it'll cost about $5 per person to eat unhealthy junk. I can take that money and turn it into not just 1, but 5 healthy dinners. $5 for an entire dinner (meat and 2 sides) may sound impossible, but I know how to shop for bargains, even in this economy. And if we DO eat out, we opt for healthy food, such as Vietnamese, which is loaded with lots of veggies. It CAN be done, people!
Reply
7-28-2011 @ 3:51AM
Anne said...Squiggles you are right, I learned that by planning the meals you know what to get at the grocers to make the meals at home.
If you know what you are going to purchace then you are able to control your budget much easier.
If you cook at home you save enormously and eat much more healthier.
If people don't know how to cook, they should grab a cook book with recipes that only require a minimal amount of ingredients.
It's always intresting to try out different kinds of cuisine.
7-28-2011 @ 3:14AM
Anne said...American kids are getting fat because they almost always eat at fast food places with their friends or their parents take them to get some take away.
If American kids do not eat at home anymore it's because many mothers don't know how to cook,don't want to or they just wont make time.
Eating a meal cooked at home can be more nutritious since most ingredients have to be prepared fresh, lots of veggies,a decent portion of fish or meats and fresh fruits for desert.
Sitting together and having dinner as a family also helps communication in a family strengthen.
Serving family style is good because it involves the kids to help set the table,and gives them a chance to help serve the meals which can give them the sense of being helpful.
Now, these days dinning tables are just selected just on design and not for it's purpose leaving dinning rooms in many homes cold and silent. Sad truely sad.
When I was growing up my siblings and myself all had our little part in helping prepare for dinner. We always had such nice, healthy home cooked meals and we always helped with the dishes after.
We were encouraged to talk during dinner, this was the time we talked about how our day went and shared our thoughts.
We were allowed to have friends over for dinner and we always had such a nice time.
When I have my own family I will continue this tradition.
Reply
7-28-2011 @ 3:17AM
Anne said...American kids are getting fat because they almost always eat at fast food places with their friends or their parents take them to get some take away.
If American kids do not eat at home anymore it's because many mothers don't know how to cook,don't want to or they just wont make time.
Eating a meal cooked at home can be more nutritious since most ingredients have to be prepared fresh, lots of veggies,a decent portion of fish or meats and fresh fruits for desert.
Sitting together and having dinner as a family also helps strengthen communication in a family.
Serving family style is good because it involves the kids to help set the table,and gives them a chance to help serve the meals which can give them the sense of being helpful.
Now, these days dinning tables are just selected just on design and not for it's purpose leaving dinning rooms in many homes cold and silent. Sad truely sad.
When I was growing up my siblings and myself all had our little part in helping prepare for dinner. We always had such nice, healthy home cooked meals and we always helped with the dishes after.
We were encouraged to talk during dinner, this was the time we talked about how our day went and shared our thoughts.
We were allowed to have friends over for dinner and we always had such a nice time.
When I have my own family I will continue this tradition.
Reply
8-02-2011 @ 9:42PM
Angela Garrison said...So the main problem is kid's are taught very early that food should be fast and convenient, the second is they are taught that because that is what their parents were taught. It all boils down to a lack of education.
I think most parents think it's the job of the schools to teach nutrition but what many fail to realize is even if the schools are teaching nutrition it does not automatically lead to a healthy lifestyle. Healthy children start in the home and MUCH earlier than most think. Cooking at home, eating together as a family starts at infancy.
One other point about education is people have no idea where their food comes from. How it got there? Where did it come from? How does a hamburger from McDonald's taste the same all over the world? Why do baby carrots deceivingly look so small and cute? Be curious, ask questions, read labels.
Reply