In study findings that may not surprise many people, kids and teens ate more calories - including more fat and more sugar - on days when they had a meal from a fast-food or sit-down restaurant.
"Parents (should) realize that restaurant consumption is not a straight-off substitute for eating at home. Restaurant consumption and fast-food consumption should not be the norm," said lead researcher Lisa Powell from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
"The additional calories and the additional sugar and saturated fat and sodium that are taken in and then consistently taken in will have some longer-term consequences," she told Reuters Health - such as an increased risk of obesity and diabetes.
For their new study, Powell and her co-author Binh Nguyen used data from nationally-representative health surveys conducted in the United States between 2003 and 2008.
On two different occasions, more than 9,000 teens were asked to recall everything they'd had to eat or drink in the past 24 hours. Parents were asked the same question for their younger children.
06/11/2012 : By Genevra Pittman / Reuters.
Oh, I do know this is true!! My food at home is prepared a lot more simply, always resulting in fewer calories. Not only that, but I eat more when I'm out too.
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