Calories Listed On Menus Can Help Curb Childhood Obesity
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In another attempt to get control of the staggering obesity rates among today’s youth, restaurants are now offering calorie counts on menu items designed for children. This discovery is based on research done by Dr. Pooja Tandon of the University of Washington in Seattle.
His team interviewed 99 parents of children aged 3 to 6 years old. The parents were given McDonald’s restaurant menus and were asked to pick out meals for themselves and their children. Half of the menus contained specific calorie information while the other half listed pictures only.
Parents consistently chose items that had approximately 100 fewer calories when they were able to see the calorie content.
Doctors hope other restaurants will follow suit by adding caloric information directly to the menu. Adding fat and sodium content in the future may also be a wise choice. The meal choices for the parents did not change with the calorie content listings.
This information leads researchers to believe that parents will choose healthier, lower calorie menu items if they have the facts. Although parents did not make healthy choices for themselves, teaching children from a young age which foods are healthier can mean healthier adolescents.
The study is in the January 25th online edition of Pediatrics.
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