Using our mobile app? Be sure to check for any new app updates to receive any enhancements.
Logo

Get Healthy!

U.S. Kids, Teens Eating Better But Nutrition Gaps Persist
  • Robert Preidt
  • Posted March 24, 2020

U.S. Kids, Teens Eating Better But Nutrition Gaps Persist

Despite some improvements, more than half of America's youth still aren't eating right, a new study finds.

Researchers analyzed data on the diets of more than 31,000 children and teens, ageD 2 to 19, who took part in a nationwide health and nutrition survey between 1999 and 2016.

Over the 18-year study period, the percentage of kids with poor diets declined from 77% to 56%. The proportion with intermediate diets rose from 23% to 44%.

In 2016, 67% of adolescents had a poor diet, compared with 53% of 6- to 11-year-olds and 40% of children 5 years and younger.

And significant disparities persisted. For example, 65% of kids from the lowest-income families had a poor diet in 2016, compared with 47% from the highest-income households.

"This is a classic 'glass half full or half empty' story," said study senior author Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, dean of the School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Boston.

Between 1999 and 2016, dietary improvements amounted to the daily equivalent of: eight fewer ounces of sugar-sweetened beverages (about eight fewer teaspoons of added sugar); a half-serving more of whole grains (for example, a half slice of whole grain bread or quarter-cup of rolled oats); and a fifth of a serving more of whole fruit (about seven grapes or part of an apple).

"Kids' diets are definitely improving, and that's very positive," Mozaffarian said in a Tufts news release. "On the other hand, most still have poor diets, and this is especially a problem for older youth and for kids whose households have less education, income or food security."

The findings were published March 24 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

More information

The American Academy of Pediatrics has more on nutrition.

SOURCE: Tufts University, news release, March 24, 2020
HealthDay
Health News is provided as a service to The Medicine Shoppe site users by HealthDay. The Medicine Shoppe nor its employees, agents, or contractors, review, control, or take responsibility for the content of these articles. Please seek medical advice directly from your pharmacist or physician.
Copyright © 2024 HealthDay All Rights Reserved.