Kids are eating

healthier now, but . . .

Source: WebMD

Their salt intake has risen and veggies are still shunned, study finds.

American kids are eating healthier these days, but their daily diet is still nowhere near perfect, a new study reports.

Kids today are eating more food that’s good for them: whole grains, whole fruits, dairy, and protein from seafood and plants. And, just as important, they are more likely to avoid sugar-laden foods and drinks full of empty calories, per a review of children’s diet trends between 1999 and 2012.

The reduction in empty calories was so steep that it “contributed to one-third of the total improvement in children’s diets,” said lead researcher Xiao Gu, a master’s student in epidemiology at Brown University School of Public Health in Providence, Rhode Island.

Kids’ salt intake has increased in recent years, and they aren’t eating more vegetables than they had been, the researchers found. During the study period, the average Healthy Eating Index score rose to 50.9 in 2012 from 42.5 in 1999, as children ate more healthy foods and more often avoided empty calories. The study found that kids did eat more whole grains, but they had average whole grains score of only two in 2012. A family’s income also plays a role in healthy eating, with diet improving alongside household wealth. Diet scores rose nearly 24 percent among the wealthiest third of the sample, 19 percent among the middle third, and 18 percent among the least wealthy third, the findings showed.

The study authors suggested that lower-income families may be less likely to buy healthier foods that usually cost more, and they also often live in neighborhoods with limited access to healthy foods, so-called “food deserts.”

For more information please contact April Speck, Clinton County Healthy Hometown Coordinator at 606-387-2051 or april.speck@clinton.kyschools.us

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