Big Rise in Kids' Junk Food Snacking

March 2, 2010 -- Kids in the U.S. are gobbling down more unhealthy snacks
daily than ever before, a new study shows.
The study, published in the March issue of the Health Affairs, shows
that children snack almost three times a day on candy, salty chips, and other
junk food.
Moreover, University of North Carolina researchers say American kids are
drinking more sugar-heavy fruit juices and sweetened sports energy beverages
that are packed with calories.
The researchers say the study is one of the first to look at long-term
eating patterns in children, and indicates that snacking now accounts for more
than 27% of kids' daily calories.
Between 1977 and 2006, the study shows, snacking added 168 calories per day
to kids' caloric intake.
 "Our study shows that some children, including very young children,
snack almost continuously throughout the day," says Barry M. Popkin, PhD, a
professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, in a
news release. "Such findings raise concerns that more children in the United
States are moving toward a dysfunctional eating pattern, one that can lead to
unhealthy weight gain and obesity."
Popkin and Carmen Piernas, also of University of North Carolina, Chapel
Hill, studied nationally representative surveys of food consumption in more
than 31,000 kids ages 2 to 18 in the U.S. from 1977 to 2006.
They homed in on snacking patterns and found large, disturbing increases
over the past few decades.
In 1977-1978, for example, 74% of the children said they snacked on foods
outside of regular meals. That exploded to 98% in 2003-2006.
Popkin says in a news release that children still eat three meals a day,
"but they're loading up on high-calorie junk food that contains little or no
nutritional value during these snacks."
The biggest increase over the three-decade period was in salty snacks, such
as crackers and chips. The researchers also say they were surprised to find
that kids are eating more candy at snack time, an unhealthy habit that not only
can lead to obesity but to cavities.
The largest increase in caloric intake from snacks was found in kids ages 2
to 6, who ate 182 more calories per day in snacks, which the researchers termed
a troubling finding.
Not only are today's kids more likely to choose sugary fruit drinks over
milk, they're less likely to pick up a fresh apple or vegetable for a snack
than in past decades, the researchers say.
Popkin says parents should try to limit snack time to once per day for
children 6 and older and make sure plenty of healthy foods are available, such
as apple slices, carrots, and other fruits and vegetables.
Children between 2 and 18 are "moving toward a consumption pattern of three
meals plus three snacks per day," the researchers conclude, adding that
snacking habits are playing a big role in today's pediatric obesity
epidemic.
http://children.webmd.com/news/20100302/kids-snacking-too-much?src=RSS_PUBLIC