News

Actions

Report: 1/3 of US kids still eat fast food daily

Posted at 2:36 AM, Sep 16, 2015
and last updated 2015-09-16 02:36:51-04

A new government report says about one-third of U.S. young people east pizza or other fast food every day. That's about the same as it was in the 1990s.

The report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there's also been no change in the proportion of calories that kids get from fast food daily. It's been at about 12 percent for the last decade, slightly more than the 11 percent previously reported for adults.

Fast food is considered heavy in calories, and scientists have pointed at drive-thru french fries and takeout pizza as contributors to kids being overweight. Childhood obesity -- a national health concern -- has been stable at about 17 percent over the last decade.

The CDC study of 3,100 young people, ages 2 through 19, was conducted in 2011 and 2012.