Originally published December 11 2005
Research finds excessive dining out exposes kids to greater risks for heart problems
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
At the meeting of the American Heart Association in Dallas, researchers reported findings from a study of 600 schoolchildren that suggests children who frequently eat out have greater heart risk factors than those who regularly eat at home.
Children who eat out frequently have higher blood pressure, cholesterol and other heart risk factors than children fed home-cooked meals more often, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.
The study of more than 600 school-age children found that 20 percent ate out four or more times a week, not including the school cafeteria.
Those children, compared with their peers who ate out less, had higher blood pressure, unhealthier cholesterol levels, and worse blood sugar metabolism -- a precursor to type-2 diabetes, the researchers found.
"We are seeing younger and younger patients with more aggressive cardiovascular disease, and we realized we needed to take a closer look at our young people to see when risk factors emerge and why," said Karen Olson, executive director of the Cardiovascular Research and Education Foundation in Wausau, Wisconsin, who led the study.
"We're concerned because we know that children who have cardiovascular risks grow up to be adults who have these risks," added Olson, a registered nurse.
Children who are taken out to eat more often may also be fed more fast food and junk food at home, Olson said.
"In a 21-meal week, eating out four times shouldn't create the high-sugar, high-sodium, high-fat intake that we saw," Olson said in a statement.
Children who ate out more often also told the researchers that they drank almost twice as many sodas and other soft drinks as children who ate at home more -- about six cups a week compared with 3.65 cups a week.
For the project, Olson's team randomly selected students in the second, fifth, eighth and 11th grades.
"As a culture, we say we value physical activity and healthy eating, but in reality we're all about convenience and convenience foods because we have such busy schedules," Olson said.
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