HHS HealthBeat (February 26, 2010)

Kids, calories and fast food

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Kids in a fast-food restaurant might not count calories, but parents could. And a study indicates that, when parents can count calories, the food they get for their kids would have fewer calories.

At Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Pooja Tandon tested this on about 100 parents of 3- to 6-year-olds. Half considered menu items they might buy for their kids. Tandon says the rest considered the same menus – but also saw calorie information for each item.

Here’s what happened with them:

[Pooja Tandon speaks] ``They chose about 100 calories less than parents who didn’t see that information. And 100 calories, added up over time, is actually a significant amount.’’

The study in the journal Pediatrics was supported by HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: May 7, 2011