Kids tend to consume more calories on pizza days
On pizza eating days, kids ate an average of 83 more calories, and teens had an average of 230 more calories, than on non-pizza days. Kids and teens also got 3 to 5 more grams of saturated fat on pizza days, and 100 to 400 more milligrams of sodium.
“What this is saying is kids are not adequately compensating in other parts of their diet when they eat pizza, and these are nutrients that we want to limit,” lead author Lisa M. Powell told Reuters Health by phone.
Powell, of the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and colleagues analyzed National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data on a national sample of kids ages 2 to 19 between 2003 and 2010, and found that calorie intake from pizza actually declined, but was still associated with unhealthier eating days.
“We wanted to answer the question, ‘does it matter that pizza is one of the top contributors to kids’ diets?” said Powell.
It does matter, since eating pizza adds extra calories and fat to the day for the average kid, she and her colleagues write in Pediatrics.
Category: Features, Health alert
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