Children who order a combination meal at fast-food restaurants are more likely to get a sugary drink that ups the meal’s total calories, according to a new study.
Researchers found those beverages such as soft drinks, sweet tea and flavored milk add about 179 more calories to meals.
Sugar-sweetened beverages are increasingly linked to health problems such as diabetes, said senior study author Brian Elbel of the New York University School of Medicine.
Any information we can find about why this high-risk group of kids is purchasing these drinks is important, he said. We haven’t had a great sense of who these kids are, especially at fast food restaurants.
It’s always tough to get data on kids that represents the real world, and this was based on what kids are actually purchasing, not some experimental setting.
In addition to ordering a combination meal, male children and those above age 12 were more likely to get a sugar-sweetened beverage and consume a higher number of calories and grams of sugar. Caregivers and parents who had a high school degree or less, bought the meal during dinner hours, and ate at the restaurant were also more likely to purchase sugary drinks for their kids.
We know that families’ frequent fast-food restaurants often, and these places have highly caloric meals, we’re no longer fighting about whether children need to drink fewer sugary drinks.
