HealthDay News - posted Tuesday, December 5th, 2006
Average U.S. Child Consumes Too Many Calories
Average U.S. Child Consumes Too Many Calories
Excess of up to 165 calories day --about a can of soda -- creates 'energy gap,' leading to overweight
It's no secret that American kids eat too much. Now, a new study provides some specific numbers that could help fight the obesity epidemic.
Over a 10-year period, the average child consumed up to 165 calories more than he or she needed each day -- the equivalent of an entire can of soda. And the fattest teens took in as many as 1,000 calories more each day than they needed -- almost as much as two Big Macs.
Many American kids are suffering from an "energy gap," in which they take in more calories than they burn through growth and daily living. And the trend won't be easy to reverse, said the study's lead author, Dr. Y. Claire Wang, a researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Read more at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_42201.html
It's no secret that American kids eat too much. Now, a new study provides some specific numbers that could help fight the obesity epidemic.Over a 10-year period, the average child consumed up to 165 calories more than he or she needed each day -- the equivalent of an entire can of soda. And the fattest teens took in as many as 1,000 calories more each day than they needed -- almost as much as two Big Macs.
Many American kids are suffering from an "energy gap," in which they take in more calories than they burn through growth and daily living. And the trend won't be easy to reverse, said the study's lead author, Dr. Y. Claire Wang, a researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Read more at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_42201.html
