Studies suggest that, on average, U.S. children overconsume energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods at the expense of nutrient-dense foods. For instance, up to 90% of children aged 4 to 13 years do not consume the recommended number of servings of fruits and vegetables, and fewer than 20% consume two or more of the recommended servings of whole grains per day. (INFOGRAPHIC 18.2)

Question 18.1

Nutrition surveys have found that children and adolescents between the ages of 2 and 18 years get approximately one-third of the total calories they consume, far exceeding recommended allowances, in the form of empty calories. Solid fats and added sugars, which provide a significant amount of these empty calories, are found in abundance in foods like soda, fruit drinks, grain desserts, pizza, whole milk, and many packaged snacks. (INFOGRAPHIC 18.3)

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Question 18.2

Why are children eating so poorly? One problem is that kids are now eating more meals away from home, particularly at fast-food restaurants, which tend to serve energy-dense and nutrient-poor foods in large portion sizes. Studies suggest that children who eat the most fast foods have diets with higher total intakes of total energy, saturated fat, and sodium. Children tend to eat less when they can serve themselves, as they might do at home; children eating at home also tend to eat more nutrient-rich foods. Family mealtimes at home can also do a lot to affect nutrition beliefs and attitudes, which typically translates to healthier food choices, reducing kids’ future risk for overweight and obesity.

Beverage consumption has also shifted in children and adolescents in recent decades, which is probably driving weight gain, too. Children aged 2 to 18 years drink less milk than did the same age group in the past but more soft drinks. On average, children consume close to 10% of their total calorie intake from sugar-sweetened beverages, and half of all Americans, including kids, consume sugar drinks on any given day. This high sugar consumption could be a primary reason that a whopping 42% of children aged 2 to 11 years have had dental caries in their primary teeth.

One piece of good news, however, is that more and more children—30 million kids in 2013—are participating in the National School Lunch Program, a federally assisted meal program operating in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions that provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost (or free) lunches to children each school day. In January 2012, in part as a result of the 2010 passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, the USDA issued new standards—the first major update to these school meals in 15 years—that increase the number of fruits and vegetables included in these meals, emphasize whole grain–rich foods, serve only low-fat and nonfat milk, limit calories, and reduce saturated fat and sodium content to ensure that the meals are in line with the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans. (INFOGRAPHIC 18.4)

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